Catalonia's Generalitat Allocated €115.5 Million to Menas in 2024

Catalonia is immersed in an intense debate about immigration management and its limits. The reason is none other than the skyrocketing increase in immigration in recent years, especially in 2023 and 2024. Associated with this phenomenon is the massive arrival of menas, for whom the Generalitat is responsible.

The latest data indicate that Catalonia hosts 4,802 menas since the beginning of 2023. What happened in 2023 was an especially alarming case: Despite the forecast about hosting around thirty minors, Catalonia had to deal with the assistance of almost two thousand.

It should be noted that the Generalitat takes care of these minors even when they exceed 18 years old, to help them build a life project. There are also many cases where the minority status is doubtful, but they are assisted anyway due to their "vulnerable situation." All this leads to spending far above what was expected, in a community where social services are at the limit.

Twice as much as a Retirement Home Place

In response to a question from Vox, the Generalitat of Catalonia has revealed that in 2024, 115.5 million euros were allocated to the care of unjoined foreign minors, known as "menas". This represents an average expenditure of 134.86 euros per day for each young person under guardianship, and 4,000 per month. The figure far exceeds what the administration allocates to any other person in a vulnerable situation. 

Thus, for example, care services for the elderly, disabled, or mentally ill in Catalonia receive significantly less funding. The cost of a nursing home for the elderly or dependent persons is 2,000 euros per month on average. That is, half of what it costs to maintain a young person under guardianship.

This leads to the conclusion that we are facing an unfair and ideologically biased distribution of resources. Public authorities allocate twice as much to the assistance of unjoined foreign minors as to the care of the elderly or the disabled. 

Moreover, this report reveals a reality that the government parties in Catalonia continue to deny. Resources are limited and insufficient to cope with the uncontrolled migratory wave of recent years. 

Debate on Immigration and Menas

Menas and the management of public resources is a debate that has long been shaping the Catalan political agenda. The parties in government continue to defend public spending for menas, citing humanitarian reasons. In contrast, other parties denounce the impact of caring for these minors on the community's limited resources.

Vox had long been asking to know exactly how much the Generalitat spends on these young people under guardianship. The data have now come to light, and it has exceeded the 100-million forecast that Councilor Carles Campuzano pointed out at the time. 

This is a debate that has also reached the streets, with many voices against it. Many people do not understand why so much money is allocated to menas when there is no money for dependency or other vulnerable groups.