New opinion column by Guillem López i Casasnovas, published in La Vanguardia under the title “The Web of the Low-Cost Economic Model.”

Available at: https://epaper.lavanguardia.com/la-vanguardia/la-vanguardia-catala

The column criticizes the “low-cost” economic model based on low wages, low productivity, and low value-added activities, which it considers unsustainable economically, socially, and environmentally. It argues that the problem is not immigration, but rather this model, which relies on cheap labor (often overqualified) to sustain itself and ultimately generates inequality and pressure on resources and public services.

It also points out that regions such as Catalonia and the Balearic Islands bear a large share of the costs of this system (rising cost of living, demographic pressure, social impacts) without receiving adequate funding, while the State prioritizes overall economic gains, such as foreign currency inflows, over local well-being and social cohesion.