In 2013 the debt load for Spanish regional governments went up by 21.3 billion euros to settle at a trim 185.5 billion euros. Three regions (Catalonia, Valencia and Andalucia) exceeded 55%. Even though the Finance Ministry set a la carte deficit goals in order to reduce economic issues for the regions that were struggling, these regions failed to meet these soft goals anyway.
Only Extremadura and Castille-Leon complied. Catalonia and Valencia missed the mark by the widest margin, because they had to pile on debt in order to meet stringent deficit goals.
Being a Spanish region allows Catalonia to keep financing its operations while mooching off the success that other regions have. This is something to think about.
