The drafting of the lists of the Andalusian PSOE for the elections of May 17 has left a single open front with real impact: Cádiz. At the start of the campaign, the Cadiz province has starred in the party's main internal struggle, resolved, for now, in favor of the provincial leadership.
The candidacy goes forward with Juan Cornejo as number one, followed by Rocío Arrabal and Fernando López Gil, in a configuration that largely coincides with the initial proposal defended from Cádiz and backed by the majority of the local groups.
A struggle that forced to remake the list
The conflict broke out when Montero's regional leadership wanted to alter the planned order to place López Gil at the head of the candidacy. That move activated an immediate reaction in the provincial structure, which finally forced to reverse the process.
The tension reached its peak when Cornejo's resignation was proposed and more or less veiled threats of demobilization of the Cadiz socialists in the province, one of the biggest nightmares of the Andalusian leadership, which achieved three seats in 2022 and which now has to see if it can revalidate those numbers.
The 'ball' now passes to Ferraz
The final result returns control to the original proposal of the province, additionally incorporating Irene García in the exit positions, in an internal balance that closes the episode at an autonomous level.
Despite the fact that the list has been approved and elevated by the Andalusian leadership, the process is not considered completely closed in organic terms within the PSOE. The party's internal system establishes a final filter at the federal level, which introduces an additional element in the validation chain of the candidacies.
Specifically, the final word rests with the Federal List Committee, the body responsible for supervising and ratifying the regional candidacies before their definitive registration. This mechanism, common in relevant electoral processes, allows the federal leadership to review the overall fit of the lists and, if necessary, introduce specific adjustments.
At that level, María Jesús Montero has a position of influence by forming part of the federal leadership as deputy secretary general.
However, within the party the diagnosis is quite clear: although that margin exists on paper, no one in the organization considers probable a new change in the Cádiz list after the outcome of the last hours. The candidacy has already been rebuilt after an intense internal struggle and has gone forward with a balance that, in principle, is considered stable.
Cádiz, the only exception on the PSOE map
The Cadiz case contrasts with the rest of the provinces, where the candidacies have closed without relevant alterations regarding the guidelines of the regional leadership, despite the initial tension, as has happened in the provinces of Cordoba and Malaga.
In that context, Cádiz emerges as the only territory where there has been a real struggle between structures, in a process that, in general terms, has been ordered in the whole of Andalusia.
The result is a provisional victory that shifts the focus to Ferraz, where, should it occur, the last move would be played out before the full start of the campaign.