Crecimiento sin bienestar no es progresista

Spanish President Sánchez is capitalizing on Spain's long growth wave since 2013, following the aftermath of the financial and euro crises. Over the eight years of his presidency, real growth has been over 11%, exceeding the European average. However, when comparing the 2013-2018 and 2018-2025 periods, the Rajoy administration appears slightly more favorable, with an average annual GDP growth of 2.2% compared to 1.7% during the Sanchez government and a higher increase in employed individuals (470,000/year, compared to 430,000).

Yet, not all citizens have benefited equally under what is touted as the "most progressive government in history": while corporate profits grew by an average of 15% in real terms, wages remained stagnant in real terms, and household fiscal burden grew disproportionately due to the government's refusal to adjust the IRPF tax rate.

Despite the strong economic growth, the poverty rate (Arope) has barely decreased by a few tenths, and child poverty has increased, despite the unsuccessful implementation of the Minimum Vital Income. The increase in employed individuals has not prevented Spain from experiencing unprecedented growth in per capita income, narrowing the gap with Europe, even as the recent financial crisis had a severe impact.

A new form of precarity has emerged since the government's labor market reform, shifting from temporary contracts to part-time and irregular fixed-term contracts, resulting in the rise of poor workers (18% according to Caritas). Three key data points illustrate this new labor precariousness: over nine million contracts have been made in 2026, 59% of which are temporary, and 44% are part-time or irregular fixed-term contracts.

Second, the effective annual working hours per salaried employee have decreased between 2018 and 2025, meaning more people work, but fewer overall hours. This represents the new labor precariousness. Third, with housing costs absorbing 50% of the average salary, poverty among workers has increased by four percentage points, according to FEDEA.

Despite the stock market hitting records and a 40% average increase in housing prices during the period, family financial wealth has nearly doubled, with a wealth-to-GDP ratio of 155%. The generational wealth gap has widened due to housing access and the revaluation of pensions, while the real wage for those under 25 has remained stagnant despite a minimum wage increase due to temporal and partial work.

The economic policies followed by the "progressive" governments of Sánchez, including the benefits of anti-crisis plans, the lack of benefits (fiscal reform, housing construction, universal childcare), and the mistakes made (IMV, labor reform), have clearly benefited the rich, entrepreneurs, and pensioners. The rest of the population has barely benefited from the strong economic growth, as public services have not improved (waiting lists in healthcare or school suspensions in PISA) and infrastructure deficiencies (roads, trains, water, etc.) have not been addressed, nor has prevention of risks like fires or floods received the necessary financial and legislative support.

Redistribution is missing. A final note shows that over five million Spaniards and their families have seen an improvement in their living conditions with the final approval of the disability and dependency law by the Congress, which the minister Bustinduy called a "refunding" of the care system with more services, fewer bureaucratic hurdles, and 6.200 million euros in additional funding over two years, hopefully eliminating waiting lists.

However, the rest of the citizenry has only seen minor improvements, as public services have not enhanced their offerings, and infrastructure deficiencies have remained unaddressed, while risk prevention measures have lacked the required financial and legislative support.