Andalusia, Catalonia, Castilla-La Mancha and Valencia will carry 70% of the weight of government spending cuts. The first two have questioned the spending cap, while the others have accepted it already even though it will be difficult to right their balance sheets despite making heavy cuts.
Through the third quarter of 2011, it looked like Spanish regional governments were going to meet their budget objectives, but in the fourth quarter they skidded out of control and were not able to. It is impossible to guarantee that this situation will not reoccur in 2012.
If some fail to meet their objectives, what can the State do to coerce them? Take back funds? Keep them from participating in the ICO plan or from receiving hispabonos? After stating that it will not meet its own budget objectives, how can the national government expect the regions to comply?
