Large families claim their best contribution to society: children
The president of the Spanish Federation of Large Families (FEFN), Benito Zuazu, is clear that the nuclei with three and more children contribute to Spanish society what they need: children.
In fact, everything that supposes supporting families with children, regardless of their number, is "an expense and not an investment", as this father of five, two of them twins, defends.
This is explained in an interview with Efe the representative of this non-profit organization, which celebrates today in Zaragoza the XI National Congress of Large Families, in collaboration with the Aragonese association "3ymas".
And three and more is precisely the number of children that makes the family numerous (special category when the successors are five or more), a model to which a total of 676,000 households in Spain respond.
This year the theme of the congress, which brings together 600 people in the capital of Aragon, is "Numerous Families, a solution to pensions" to influence the solidarity they exercise in the current demographic context, with an increasingly aging population.
"Our generational pyramid is a mushroom: there are many older people on the top and fewer and fewer young people on the bottom, we are talking about 1.3 children on average per woman and for a generational change experts point to 2.1 or 2 , 2 ", illustrates the president of the FEFN.
And that figure above the average has, he says, large families.
In full "demographic winter" the solutions that Zuazu contributes to balance the balance go through the support to the birth rate and to the families "so that they have one, two, three, five children or the children that they want to have responsibly".
Small and young who will be "future contributors", he explains. A situation before which these families of three or more children are presented as "the solution in the very near future".
"It's a 'quid pro quo': we provide that raw material that is needed, but we also ask that when raising our children they help us with fiscal and family policies," explains the father.
Today, this group considers aid at state, autonomous and municipal levels as "scarce" and, in fact, only one in three families of this type manages to save, according to the federation.
For example, the president relates one of the situations in his home with a fundamental resource, water: "We are seven at home, as soon as we shower, put the dishwasher and drink, we passed the first section, and the second section and increase the price. "
He insists that they do not want to stop paying the bill, but they do apply an equitable price: a special rate for large families.
In spite of everything, it recognizes that in Spain they have already achieved great milestones, such as a reduction in the IRPF or the recognition of the large family title in the last children (although part of their siblings have already left the nucleus).
Now, they pursue the same thing when one of the children leaves the nucleus of a special large family, as well as reducing the number of children, from the current five to four, in order to access more benefits than the ordinary large family, with three.
For Zuazu, this last one is a measure that adapts to the Spanish reality and that could suppose many advantages "that are noticed in the pocket", like the gratuitous matrícula in the university, the 50% in the transports or a greater bonus in taxes as the IRPF or the IBI.
In addition, the president defends a monthly aid of 125 euros per child up to 18 years old - as happens in other European countries - and regardless of the number of successors, because "we must support all families with children".
