Briefing
The Partido Riojano (PR+) publicly called on 6 October 2026 for a public childcare unit for children aged 0 to 3 to be established in San Román de Cameros According to the party, five families in the town and surrounding area currently need this type of childcare; two more children are expected to join them next school year. These figures were provided by Partido Riojano and have not yet been officially confirmed.
San Román de Cameros serves as a central location for various services in the rural area of Cameros Viejo and is also home to one of the sites of the Colegio Rural Agrupado (CRA) Las Cuatro Villas. Partido Riojano proposes linking early-years childcare to the existing Colegio Rural Agrupado (CRA) Las Cuatro Villas network, to shorten journeys and make it easier for parents to balance family and work.
Partido Riojano frames its call as part of the effort to combat rural depopulation: in the party’s view, attracting new residents alone is not enough; the living conditions of families already there must also be secured. The Gobierno de La Rioja has not issued a formal response to the party’s request by the editorial deadline.
Several questions need to be resolved for a practical implementation, in line with standard administrative practice: who would run the service and how it would be linked to existing educational structures; funding from the regional budget or rural development programmes; recruiting suitable staff in a sparsely populated area; and the building and legal requirements for taking children under three.
Until the regional government gives official approval, Partido Riojano’s initiative remains a political demand with no binding timetable. A conveniently located childcare facility would, however, make day-to-day planning easier for the families concerned and could help stabilise the population of Cameros Viejo.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).