Former SEPI president accused of bid rigging for Socialist administrations
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A former president of the state industrial holding company SEPI allegedly charged an annual 48,000-euro tariff to secure contracts from Socialist-led administrations. The scheme reportedly involved a Zaragoza firm serving as a conduit for interested clients, adding a fresh line of inquiry into the party's handling of public funds.
The political rhetoric is sharpening ahead of the November 29 elections, as conservative leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo attributed recent riots in Barcelona directly to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. To secure his lead in the polls, Feijóo has enlisted former prime ministers José María Aznar and Mariano Rajoy to join the campaign trail and asked regional party barons to help cover the ground.
The economic gap continues to widen on the shelves and in the streets. Grocery prices have risen 53% more than wages since 2021, while union leaders warn that even recent salary hikes cannot keep pace with housing costs. Elsewhere, a bus carrying families to Montseny natural park fell down a 20-meter ravine, injuring eighty people.