Why is the government announcing changes in DGAIA now after months of silence?

The Minister of Social Rights of the Govern, Mònica Martínez Bravo, announced ambitious changes this Monday for a "structural transformation" of DGAIA. The Directorate will no longer manage hiring and benefits, and it will be controlled by two external units. In addition, 300 new professionals will be incorporated by 2027, and the management model will be updated with technological, logistical, and planning advances.

The Govern announced the changes hastily after the scandal broke involving a minor under guardianship who was a victim of a pedophile ring. However, DGAIA has been under scrutiny for months due to corruption scandals without the government taking action. This adds skepticism to the changes announced this Monday.

The question many are now asking is why the executive took so long to make a move and why they only did so when it became unavoidable. The explanation may lie in the pact of silence among the governing partners. The investiture agreement forced PSC to protect its main partner, ERC, which is the main party implicated in DGAIA's corruption.

crisis timeline

The Govern announces structural changes in DGAIA more than a year after the report that raised the alarm. It was in April 2024, when the Audit Office clearly warned of several irregularities during the 2016-2020 period.

The report, which covered the years when DGAIA was under ERC's control, appeared on the eve of the Catalan elections (12-M). Salvador Illa ended up being invested thanks to agreements with Comuns and, above all, with Esquerra. The three parties voted against a resolution proposal that urged the direct implementation of the Audit Office's recommendations.

This happened on November 21, 2024, when information about the irregularities was already emerging. However, this information did not appear in the mainstream Catalan press. The pact among the governing parties and the silence of the media allowed the issue to be temporarily buried.

PSC believed they could weather a crisis that directly affected one of their partners. However, some independent media and the opposition's denunciation of the scandal increased the pressure. In response, an escalation began that led to the prostitution ring scandal.

excuses and missteps

PSC and Comuns immediately accepted ERC's excuses to cover up their responsibility for DGAIA's irregularities. Excuses such as the increase in the arrival of unaccompanied minors, the pandemic, and Article 155. Above all, they used the argument of not addressing the issue so as not to fuel the far right.

This coincided with some erratic decisions by the Department of Social Rights. Especially the decision to dismiss DGAIA's director six months after being appointed by the same socialist government. No substantial justification was ever given.

The Govern now argues that they had been planning the changes announced today for some time. However, the reality is that they only announced them when the scandal reached the scale of a crisis that threatened to drag down the government itself. When the public and subsidized press had no choice but to report on the case.

The suspicion of mutual cover-up among the governing parties remains, as they are now in a hurry to clarify the facts and transform DGAIA. Among other things, they have announced an investigative committee in Parliament, which the opposition denounces as an attempt to "cover up the shame".

real changes?

PSC has clearly shifted its position, from lukewarmness to forcefulness with the announced changes. These are nothing more than a tacit acknowledgment of what the opposition has been warning about for some time: that we are facing a scandal of enormous proportions.

Even so, PSC and Comuns insist on protecting ERC by saying that what needs to be done now is to make changes and not look for those responsible. They are aware that the scandal taints all the main parties to a greater or lesser extent and highlights the failure of recent governments in Catalonia. Among them Junts, which has also shown erratic behavior.

The Govern has announced well-intentioned measures, especially regarding the control and oversight of these bodies. Looking at the timeline of the case, many have doubts about the possibility of real change. Especially if everything changes except the main actors.