Three Cuban families have started moving from the island to Palencia, a municipality in Spain Belonging to the Autonomous Community of Castilla y León, thanks to a program of repopulation of the territories of European nations that have suffered severe loss of inhabitants.
As per Cadena SER report, The first two Cubans arrived on Thursday in the city of Paredes de Nava, their new destination20 kilometers from Palencia, where 80 people who arrived there as part of the repopulation program already live.
Two Cubans, whose identities were not disclosed in the report, They are just an outpost of three families from the island who will be arriving soon.
The Paredes de Nava Repopulation Office, in charge of the process, and which is managed by the Arraigo Project, is in charge of the residence and work procedures for Cubans, all of them with Spanish nationality, descendants of Castilians and Leonese, for their settlement in Tierra de Campos in the villages of the region.
These institutions seek to channel the arrival of Cubans who meet these needs.Who manage travel permits and locate them in cities.
The Arraigo project won a public tender in Spain that allowed it to create an office with population service technicians aimed at regenerating Paredes de Nava and other municipalities. To be eligible for this program, clear the initiative, Must have a residence and work permit in Spain or be a citizen of the European Union.
Depopulation of rural areas due to migration from villages to cities, decrease in birth rate and increase in old age is a problem that many countries are facing. in spain, Some towns attempt to attract a younger population by offering very low rents or financial aid. just to go there.
The so-called “Empty Spain”, as the phenomenon is known, means that the population in rural municipalities increased by an average of 9.6% between 1996 and 2020, although the growth was uneven: in Castilla y León, for example In contrast for the rest, the number of inhabitants fell by 19.7%. According to Spain’s National Institute of Statistics (INE), that region is facing a loss of 240,000 inhabitants over the next 15 years.
More than 150,000 people with Spanish nationality who are registered as voters to vote in the European nation’s next general elections in July live in Cuba, the fourth largest number of citizens with that right in the world.
In December 2022, Jesús Julio Carneiro, Advisor to the Presidency of Castilla y León, announces an aid of 120,000 euros for Cuban citizens or their descendants living in Cuba during his visit to CubaSo that they can take up “basic needs coverage” because they are “in a state of extreme need or uncertainty”.
“These aids include direct economic benefits, non-periodic, personal perception and of a social and aid nature, to Castilians and Leonese abroad who are in need due to lack of income or income necessary to meet their needs. Basic subsistence, as per the socioeconomic reality of the country of residence,” he said.
this happened last april Only about 4% of Cuba’s population moved to the US in the last two years. According to Cuban economist Emilio Morales, president of the Havana Consulting Group, more than 450,000 Cubans left the island in 24 months. This figure does not include those who followed other routes, constituting the worst exodus in the country’s history.