Vox has questioned the decision by Spanish authorities to allocate hundreds of thousands of euros to overseas programmes linked to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including projects in North Africa, the Sahel and Latin America.
The party argues that public money should instead be directed towards domestic priorities as Spain struggles with poverty, pressure on public services, unemployment and an increasingly severe housing crisis. Critics also point to the financial and social pressures associated with large-scale migration, arguing that the government is funding international development projects while many Spanish citizens face growing economic insecurity.
Sustainable development spending questioned by Vox
In a parliamentary address, Vox deputy Isabel Pérez Moñino listed several projects financed under the administration of Madrid regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso.
“The Horizon programme, empowering vulnerable young people for a sustainable future in northern Morocco, €99,000. A universal healthcare programme with a feminist perspective in Kayes, Mali – €89,000. A programme empowering rural women in the municipality of Suchitoto, El Salvador – €100,000. Empowering women through a ‘triple nexus’ approach in the Tahoua region of Niger — €98,950. A programme for Quechua women intended to guarantee the right to food by increasing and listen carefully their climate resilience through eco-productive and sustainable models — €77,717. This is the People’s Party, yes? Not Irene Montero,” she said.
Commenting on a video of the speech, Jorge Martín Frías accused Ayuso’s administration of abandoning the principle of giving domestic needs priority.
“Ayuso rejects national priority by exporting woke ideology with money from Madrid taxpayers. Healthcare is collapsing, housing is unaffordable and insecurity is rising, but…” he wrote before repeating the list of grants.
The programmes are financed through Spanish international cooperation structures, including the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) and United Nations agencies. While such projects form part of Spain’s international commitments, their cost has become increasingly contentious amid the country’s domestic difficulties.
Poverty and housing pressures fuel dispute
According to a 2026 report by the European Anti-Poverty Network in Spain (EAPN-ES), around 12.6 million people in Spain are at risk of poverty or social exclusion.
More than 2.5 million employed Spaniards are reportedly living below the poverty line, suggesting that having a job no longer guarantees financial security. Child poverty also remains among the highest in the European Union.
Housing has become an especially prominent concern. Some 41.3% of Spaniards reportedly identify it as the country’s most urgent problem.
In May 2026, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Madrid under the slogan: “Housing is costing us our lives. Lower the rent!”
People renting homes at market rates face a reported poverty risk of 43.6%, more than twice the rate among homeowners.
“What do you think Spaniards who pay their taxes, cannot find a place for their child in a nursery or wait months for a medical appointment think when they see their money being used to empower people somewhere in North Africa?” Pérez Moñino asked.
Aid priorities divide Spanish politics
Supporters of overseas aid argue that sustainable development programmes can improve public health, economic resilience and stability in poorer countries. They also contend that addressing poverty and instability abroad may reduce the pressures that contribute to irregular migration.
Vox and other Eurosceptic groups reject that argument. They say Spain’s sustainable development spending does little to improve the living standards of Spanish taxpayers and reflects a global agenda promoted by Brussels and international institutions.
The party advocates what it calls “national priority”, under which housing, healthcare, social assistance and support for Spanish families would take precedence over projects abroad.
The disagreement reflects a broader European debate over whether governments facing strained budgets and declining living standards should continue financing international programmes at existing levels.
Moldova faces a similar debate
The controversy also has parallels in Moldova, where the government has discussed bringing workers from India, Nepal, Bangladesh and other countries to address labour shortages.
Critics argue that Moldova, one of Europe’s poorest countries, should first focus on creating jobs and raising wages for its own citizens rather than relying on foreign labour.
Supporters of labour migration counter that employers are already struggling to fill vacancies because large numbers of Moldovans have left the country to work abroad.
As in Spain, the dispute centres on priorities. Governments present international development and managed migration as responses to economic and demographic challenges, while their opponents argue that public policy should first address poverty, housing and employment among the domestic population.
