The DGAIA Scandal Threatens to Further Sink ERC and Junts, and Drag Down PSC

The scandal of irregularities in the Directorate General for Child and Adolescent Care (DGAIA) threatens to open a crisis in Salvador Illa's Govern. In the last plenary session, the opposition's discontent was already evident. Several opposition parties, from CUP to Vox, demanded explanations for the lack of transparency in the management by the current Department of Social Rights.

In the background, there is a murmur about the feeling that PSC is covering up for ERC. The irregularities occurred between 2016 and 2020. At that time, Junts and ERC were in power, although the department and the direction of DGAIA were in the hands of the republicans.

Is there a pact of silence between PSC and ERC to cover up the scandal, as part of the investiture agreement between socialists and republicans? Is PSC trying to 'save' ERC to keep the support of its main government partner? Did Junts know about the irregularities, and to what extent could they end up being implicated in the scandal?

DGAIA's Irregularities

The Audit Office uncovered alleged irregularities of DGAIA last year, which are now being investigated by the Anti-Fraud Office. DGAIA is a public body dependent on the Generalitat. Between 2016 and 2023, it managed 788 million euros for the care of minors and young people who were no longer under guardianship.

But instead of directly managing the services, DGAIA subcontracted them to third-party companies. There was a wide network of entities and foundations that were apparently non-profit and filled with leaders from DGAIA itself.

It was these same leaders who allegedly awarded contracts irregularly. They also allegedly granted aid to young people who did not meet the requirements. The latest news is that DGAIA benefited a private foundation for its enrichment through the purchase of 500 public housing units.

A Ticking Time Bomb About to Explode

These irregularities were committed during the terms of Dolors Bassa and Chakir El Homrani, both from ERC, as Ministers of Social Affairs. In those years, there were three leaders of DGAIA. Two of them, Ricard Calvo and Georgina Oliva, were high-ranking officials of ERC.

Those who know well the irregularities committed in DGAIA are Octuvre, the media outlet directed by Albano Dante-Fachín and Marta Sibina. They have uncovered most of DGAIA's corrupt practices. According to them, what has come out so far is just the tip of the iceberg.

DGAIA's scandals are currently a ticking time bomb about to explode in the hands of Salvador Illa's Govern. It is clear that the case directly implicates ERC and could be the final blow for Oriol Junqueras's party. But it also indirectly affects Junts, which presided over the governments from 2016-2017 and 2018-2020.

Junts can always claim that they knew nothing about all this. But Carles Puigdemont came to the presidency just the year the Audit Office marks as the beginning of the irregularities. It is significant that the DGAIA scandal occurred precisely under a government that came as the quintessence of democratic purity.

The post-convergents demanded explanations in a parliamentary committee after the devastating report from the Audit Office was released. But immediately afterward, they voted alongside PSC, ERC, and Comuns to prevent the minister's appearance. In the last plenary session, they joined CUP and Vox in the offensive for the Govern to provide explanations and take action.

ERC, meanwhile, knows that the case can do them a lot of harm at a particularly delicate moment for the party. For now, they have excused themselves by blaming the chaos caused by the influx of unaccompanied minors, Article 155, and the pandemic.

But the Audit Office itself warned them in a parliamentary committee that these excuses are insufficient. It seems that the republicans are using their influence over Salvador Illa's government to block any investigation. The case could end up affecting PSC, which then had no responsibilities, but now does.

PSC, Between a Rock and a Hard Place

PSC finds itself in a difficult position. Beyond whether or not there is a pact of silence with ERC, it is evident that the socialists are trying to cover up the case to avoid wearing down their priority partner. But at the same time, as the case grows larger, it becomes a more real threat to the Govern.

PSC fears that the DGAIA case will end up becoming their particular Hard Rock. That is, an entrenched issue that ends up taking down the government as it did with Pere Aragonès. Hence, PSC, ERC, and Comuns try to keep a united front with this case.

The decision of the current minister to dismiss the director of DGAIA six months after her appointment responds to a clear intention. PSC wants to open a new stage in DGAIA to cover up the scandals. But if information like the corrupt housing scheme continues to emerge, the Govern will have fewer and fewer options.

In short, the controversy surrounding DGAIA has become a very serious problem for a government increasingly besieged by crises. The scandal threatens to finally sink the pro-independence parties. And drag PSC down with them due to their insistence on saving the pro-independence movement.