Juan Grabois is in Europe seeking international support for his proposals as a candidate

After its virtual launch act as a presidential candidate with the governor Axel Kicillofthe social leader Juan Grabois will travel to the Old Continent to present his latest book and exchange government policy experiences with leaders of Europe’s centre-left, including the former Italian Prime Minister, Joseph Conte.

in a kind of international tour -as traditional presidential candidates usually do-, the leader of the Frente Patria Grande will appear publicly with politicians who will propose “recipes” and measures that he intends to replicate in Argentina. In principle, the most important of them will be the parliamentary deputy and former head of the Italian state between 2018 and 2021 and leader of the opposition ”5 star movement” (Five Star Movement).

Grabois will be with Conte in Rome today, where he will present his book entitled “The Worst. Lazy, throws, squats and violent. Rubble Humanism Allegations”. It will be at 6:30 p.m. in Italy (2:30 p.m. in Buenos Aires) in an official setting: the Argentine House of the Italian Embassy directed by the jurist robert carlos. He has had a good relationship with the lawyer for years, which has been consolidated since Vice President Cristina Kirchner promoted the current diplomat to an aspiring judge at the Supreme Court of Justice.

The essay “Los Peores” is presented as a legal defense against the most common accusations received by its author and “the millions of people” who make up the popular economy, but everything is a formulation of the political program by Jean Grabois. With a self-critical rhetoric of the management of the Frente de Todos and social movements, the text draws up a diagnosis with proposals aimed, among other things, at work, security, policies for the reintegration of former prisoners and access to housing.

Therefore, the presentation of the book is necessarily linked to the electoral proposal. During the meeting at the Italian diplomatic headquarters, it is expected that one of the axes of the intervention will be the ‘Basic income” (“Citizenship income”). This is a measure that has been implemented in Italy and is similar to the universal basic wage that the reference of the Movement of Excluded Workers (MTE) promotes for Argentina. The common thread with Conte is not so much his affiliation and his political origin – the Italian leader knew how to be a representative of the European establishment – but this action of income distribution which he observes with praise.

In the Frente de Todos, the universal base salary was hampered and wrecked in the sea of ​​internal official, despite the fact that the vice president Cristina Kirchner hints at momentary support. Finally, what was implemented is a version light at the end of 2022 with the “emergency income”, intended only for the most deprived and excluded people in the country. Grabois wants to show, with the Italian case, that the adoption of a universal income of these characteristics it’s possible and can be adopted nationally. He has done so in various public statements, but this time his proposal coincides with his recent launch as a candidate.

Conte designed the citizen income initiative so that recipients could have up to 18 months – with the possibility of extension – of a compensation of 700 euros until they register a job. Unlike other social programs, the eligibility criteria are universal, with no income restrictions. In Italy there is an intense discussion about this. The current far-right Prime Minister, Georgia Meloni, seeks to relaunch this mission and define it with new conditions. But no one thinks of interrupting it despite the ideological distances with the referent of “Five stars”.

In addition to the Italian experience, Grabois closely follows the universal income modalities explored by other European local governments. Last year he found himself in Barcelona con Oriol Junqueras, Ada Colau and Sergi Raventos, promoters of basic income in Catalonia. And in Berlin encounter Annika KloseMP for the PSD, to address her “Bürgerheld” proposal, another project inspired by the universal income model.

Grabois’ public agenda will continue on Sunday March 20 at Lisbonthe capital of Portugal, where he will exhibit his book with the deputy of the Bloco de Esquerda (Left Bloc), Mariana Mortagua, at the Galveias Library. Mortágua is an economist specializing in housing issues and foreign debt. For many left-wing leaders and intellectuals, the political strategy adopted by Portugal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is exciting because, hand in hand with the head of the socialist state Antonio Costa, confronted the agency and did not adapt to its recipe for adjusting public expenditure. The path followed has led to a Portuguese “miracle”, with a sustained growth of the economy (in 2022 it grew by 6.7%) and a reduction of public debt of 18 percentage points compared to the peak levels reached in the first quarter of 2021.

In addition, the founder of the Union of Workers of the Popular Economy (UTEP) is interested in how the country of the poet Fernando Pessoa banned new tourist rentals, established price controls and established the obligation to to occupy empty houses. In Portugal, according to official figures, 723,215 empty homes have been detected. With the latest regulations, the state will be able to lease them to sublet them for five years and act as a Real estate mediator, with a collection ceiling that can never exceed 35% of family income.

Grabois’ public tour ends next Monday with another presentation in Madrid, Spain, with the Spanish MP Raphael Mayoral, Secretary of Relations and Social Movements at Podemos. Of communist origin, Mayoral became a reference and adviser to the Platform of People Affected by Mortgages (PAH) when the revolt of the Spanish “indignados” began in 2011.

Grabois believes that in Argentina it is necessary to move forward with similar regulations in the real estate market in the manner of Portugal and Spain to address the housing deficit, although his main proposal is a “five year plan“which guarantees one million lots to build houses throughout the country, as well as the construction of a housing complex on Isla Demarchi for those who live in the metropolitan area of ​​​​Buenos Aires.

You may be interested: How Pope Francis’ relationship with popular movements began

For a long time the Patria Grande Front and Juan Grabois in particular have forged links in Europe with similar political spaces, especially since Pope Francis incorporated it as a member of the Dicastery for Integral Human Development of the Holy See, one of the many missions of the Vatican. International. Coincidentally or not, the social leader will again travel to Roman soil in the week in which Jorge Bergoglio celebrates his ten years of pontificate. From the capital of the ancient world, and with an evangelizing vision, Francis set up a platform allowing social movements to articulate their actions on a global scale.

Already in October 2022, the social leader had met Giuseppe Conte to assess public policies and approached the Nordic social security system with the Norwegian Helen Bankof the Norwegian Institute for Welfare State Policy Research (For Velferdsstaten), and Swedish Member of Parliament Lorraine Delgado. This trip included discussions with Frederic Mochof the Trade Union Confederation (DGB) and with the referents of Podemos, Pablo Iglesias there Pablo Echenique.

The origin of this last tour stems from an invitation from the community of Sant Egidio in Rome, where he spoke at the event “The Cry of Peace”, where political and religious leaders from around the world were present. entire. It was an institutional act of high diplomacy and international hierarchy. There were speeches by the French president, Emmanuel Macronthe italian president Sergio Mattarella and the closure was left in the hands of his friend, the dad francisco.

Grabois has since hinted at the Casa Rosada with his aspirations. Since last year, he has made recurring tours across the country in the company of the Nation’s Interior Minister, Edward “Wado” by Peter, to debate in assemblies his proposal of “Integral Human Development”. Only a candidacy from the head of La Cámpora or the vice-president Cristina Kirchner would make him give up a candidacy for his campaign for a “Argentina Human”. He wants to face any center proposal presented by the Frente de Todos, be it Alberto Fernández, Sergio Massa or Daniel Scioli. “Cristina asked to grab the marshal’s baton and take control. That’s exactly what I do,” warns anyone who questions his candidacy.

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