MADRID – At the end of 2022, one and a half million people in Spain received the Minimum Vital Income (IMV). These figures came amid controversy over Podemos’ proposal for a guaranteed income between €700 and €1,400 per month.
That guaranteed income would be valid from the age of 18. According to statistics from the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, one-third of IMV recipients live in Andalucia, with 166,875 files and 487,743 recipients. However, it should be borne in mind that Andalucia is the most populous autonomous community in Spain. The region has 8.5 million inhabitants (18% of the total).
By province, Seville is the one with the largest number of files in Andalucia with 42,339. This is followed by Cádiz with 29,117 and Málaga with 25,445. Far behind is the Region of Valencia with 63,825 approved files and 182,281 recipients respectively. Next comes Madrid, with 52,650 files and 154,121 beneficiaries. Madrid is followed by Catalonia, with 46,377 and 133,124.
Among the 100,000 beneficiaries remain the following;
- Castilla y León, with 71,480
- Galicia, with 69,933
- Canary Islands, 62,821
- Castilla-La Mancha, with 61,938
The opposite happens with autonomous communities such as;
- Balearic Islands, with only 19,770 beneficiaries and only 7,192 files
- Cantabria with 14,791 people and 5,735 applications approved
- La Rioja with 10,829 beneficiaries and 3,849 applications
73% of applications rejected
According to the Independent Authority for Fiscal Responsibility (AIReF), 73% of applications were rejected based on income, wealth or community unit criteria. The goal, as explained by the Ministry of Inclusion and Social Security, is not that income is obtained permanently, but that “the beneficiaries can integrate into the world of work” and thus reduce poverty.
Podemos wants to change the Minimum Vital Income (IMV)
The political party Podemos wants to change the support to a maximum of €1,400 payment. Besides the amount, another big difference with the IMV is that this new allowance would go to every household with an income of less than €2,100 in the three months prior to the application. While the IMV takes into account the annual income to choose the beneficiaries.
Monthly expenses
AIReF already examined the capacity of IMV in 2021. This analysis showed that it had reached only 280,000 households and only 56% of the aid had been implemented. Fully implemented, it would cover 700,000 homes and represent an annual cost of €2.8 billion.
Related post: Minimum Vital Income supports too few vulnerable families
If the beneficiaries had no other sources of income, the total costs could now amount to €5.6 billion per year, or about €470 million per month, according to the approved applications and the amount per household type.
Information on wheels
The IMV information bus was launched in October. This will drive to Albacete, Murcia and Lorca in a few days. People from the ministry ride on the bus to inform citizens about the status of their application, whether they are entitled to it and to help them apply for aid. It is estimated that 1,779 people have already received information from this mobile information service.
