Catalonia faces social backlash over unpaid benefits

The improvised reform embarked upon by the regional government of Catalonia (Generalitat) designed to combat the fraudulent tapping of a monthly 420-euro emergency benefit for the unemployed and to put the brakes on new claims, has come back to haunt it; tens of thousands of Catalan citizens have been waiting anxiously for eight days for the meager sum that allows them to survive.

In the middle of the busiest holiday season in Spain, and without notice, the region's business and employment department decided to alter the payment criteria in the face of huge demand. The object of the exercise was to weed out the bad practices that the Generalitat believes exist in part of the approximately 34,000 current claims.

The last analysis carried out by the business and employment department, using data from 2009, estimates that each claim covers 3.25 people, which renders a total of 110,500 dependent on the benefit. There are no more recent figures; a Generalitat spokesman said that the staff at the department are on holiday and new figures will be compiled in September.

The timing of the changes, lack of information and the concerns of recipients of the regional government aid threaten to degenerate into social crisis. "We are extraordinarily worried about the situation," said the regional social services chief, Eduard Berloso, who believes the Generalitat is not paying "because it is carrying out a general review of all benefits."

In the meantime, in Girona, the city with the highest instance of recipients of the benefit at 1,100, around 100 people have not received anything for months. Girona City Hall has created an emergency fund to cover basic necessities such as rent and food. A local charity, jointly formed by the City Hall, Cáritas and the Red Cross, is distributing food to residents.

"Last week the Generalitat told [benefits claimants] that it was down to lies on the part of town halls' social assistance departments, and in the past few days they've been sending them to us instead of giving explanations on their own part," said sources from the Citizens' Advice Bureau in Tarragona.

Tarragona City Hall pointed out that it is only responsible for managing claims and the Generalitat is solely in charge of payments themselves.