Where the change has begun, in Galicia, the municipalities will mark the state of health of this new left or self-classified as splinter, which in 2020 disappeared from the Galician Parliament
In the early 70s, Bob Marley sang love with On the high seas or on the low seas. He promised that when the tide was high, or when it was low, he would be beside him. The maritime metaphor comes from the lack of brotherhood with which the 2014-2019 political cycle ended for those known as tides, the political spaces that emerged in Galicia to the left of the BNG and PSdeG, which reached the unions of A Coruña, Santiago and Ferrol and they were vanguard of the new policy.
Now, in view of the municipal elections in May, it is time to rebuild the remains of the shipwreck, if thereby the failure of keep expectations in the local elections three and a half years ago, when they lost their crown jewels.
S May’s elections are evidence of political change which insinuate not only the polls, but the solvent victory of the PP in Andalusia. On the one hand, Alberto Núñez Feijóo’s popular feel they are taking flight as they cut out Vox and Ciudadanos is about to disappear.
On the left, the PSOE is trying to stop the usury of Pedro Sánchez due to inflation exceeding 10% and which it hasn’t suffered since the 1980s and the new left seeks its future entrusted, on the one hand, to Yolanda Díaz as savior and headliner, but threatened by internal discussions that have already cost her millions of votes in recent years.
Where the change has begun, in Galicia, the municipals will mark the state of health of that new left or self-classified as rupturist, which in 2020 he disappeared from the Galician parliament, losing its 14 seats. At the moment, the outlook is not too optimistic.
“There should be agreement so that we can and the tides go together in Vigo, Santiago and A Coruña. If that happens, they should pull the bandwagon and make things easier in other places,” says a source from this policy space.
To internal quarrels in each commonenters the state context, with Unidas Podemos (Podemos and Izquierda Unida) in the low hours, supporting the project by Yolanda Diaz but reluctant to lose weight internally and on the electoral lists.
“LThe Podemos brand is worn out and the party needs to understand this so as not to further damage Yolanda, who is the main asset, even if Sumar does not stand in the municipal or regional elections in May”, says this source, alluding to the public clashes between a more pragmatic Díaz and a Podemos with a speech critical of the government to which it belongs.
Podemos is almost marginal in Galicia. In the last year he won ten groups up to having fifty active ones, that is, he is present in less than 20% of the 313 councils of the community. The powerful tides are limited to Santiago, Vigo, A Coruña and Ferrol, outside the governments, and Anova is missing.
At the end of September and beginning of October, Podemos will launch the primaries to choose the contacts in the municipalities where they will decide to present the candidates, which will number only around fifty. Then they will negotiate possible alliances.
“We know there are changes in the political environment and the right is strong. We are not in 2015, but in 2022, but I have hope,” says Antón Gómez-Reino, deputy to Congress and leader of Podemos in Galicia.
“Our goal should be to condition municipal governments and accomplish in them what we have done in central government,” he adds about his goals, though he declines to detail the state of its formation in cities.
That’s one of the keys to a party that experiences low hours as a brand, like Izquierda Unida, the other stop at United We Can.
Four years ago, internal problems prevented the closure of alliances between Mareas and UP in 14 municipalities, including Ferrol, Lugo, Pontevedra and Ourense. In the last three, where there were 9 directors, they lost all representation.
In Vigo and Santiago, with Marea de Vigo and Compostela Aberta, the options to be repeated single application They are the highest in Galicia, but not in A Coruña. There, the sole Podemos mayor in the consistory has declined to join the Atlantic Tide group, and the positions appear remote. Gómez-Reino, on the other hand, is confident of reaching an agreement.
The weakened state of this political space may be the best ally to join forces, even if personal quarrels complicate it in Pontevedra, Lugo and Ourense. In Vilagarcía, for example, Podemos and IU, which have municipal representation, hope to repeat the alliance.
The problem now lies in the choice of candidates, undercapitalized this space of references. Outside of politics are the former mayors of Santiago and A Coruña, Martiño Noriega and Xulio Ferreiro, and Xan Xove and Marta Lois appear to be substitutes, the latter participating in Yolanda Díaz’s Sumar project.
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In Vigo Rubén Pérez would repeat himself, while the only one of the mayors of the active change and with a record as councilor, Jorge Suárez, is considering whether to repeat as headliner in Ferrol. Pontevedra, Lugo and Ourense are unknown.
Municipal tides must row against the current or be carried to the bottom by it.
