Adelante Andalucía celebrated its final campaign event this Friday in Seville with an explicit call to concentrate the left-wing vote in its acronyms for the May 17 elections. The party leadership repeated over and over the idea that this "useful vote" can "take seats" from both the PP and Vox in these regional elections and "to wipe the smile off the impostor Moreno." The housing situation and the staunch defense of public services, especially healthcare and education, were the focus of many of the speeches.
The candidate for the Presidency of the Junta, José Ignacio García, conveyed this message during a rally in the Alameda de Hércules. On stage, he was accompanied by Inma Manzano, head of the list for Granada; Begoña Iza, number one for Seville, and Luis Rodrigo, candidate for the province of Málaga.
García opened his speech by singing a copla from the Cádiz comparsa DSAS3, by Jesús Bienvenido, highly critical of the "little Andalusian gentleman," in light of the PP's electoral complaint --later withdrawn-- against the Alcalá de Guadaíra carnival show scheduled for this Saturday, the day of reflection, in which said group will perform.
"Mr. Moreno, I ask you to lend an ear and listen well: 'Little Andalusian gentleman, miserable bastard, lying scoundrel, illustrious braggart, kept man, a prosperous and pathetic petty thief (...), bastard son of Andalusia, who has stolen the health of the poor by exchanging gold for copper'," recited the Adelante leader. He then recalled that this is how Jesús Bienvenido's comparsa, "which he wanted to censor yesterday, begins. Well, now he will have to listen to it because the Andalusian people cannot be silenced, and Carnival, which belongs to the people, cannot have a gag put in its mouth."
The Adelante candidate insisted again on his view that the PP candidate for re-election is "nervous" in this electoral appointment, in which, he said, "we have also unmasked the fascists of Vox, whose only priority is to get rich." "We will not forget that two days after we learned that he had abandoned 2,317 women with breast cancer, Moreno said he did not notify them so as not to cause them anxiety: that is no longer funny: this is called being an impostor."
"He must know something (Moreno) when he prohibits the carnival, doesn't want to go to debates, and doesn't want there to be an electoral campaign. If the impostor doesn't want elections, this Sunday we have to go vote to wipe the smile off his face," he stressed, in one of the passages most applauded by the audience.
The campaign closing gathered a numerous audience, mostly young and very participatory, who greeted García with shouts of 'Gafa president'. The open-air space, located next to the columns of Los Leones and presided over by a large green backdrop with the electoral slogan "Vote what you feel", was set up with about 300 chairs, all occupied, while many other people followed the event standing.
Half an hour before the start, the atmosphere was very different: only a few volunteers were finishing putting up posters, the rock group Quentin Gas was testing sound, technicians were finalizing details, and some curious people were approaching, while around, as every afternoon, dozens of kids were playing football or in the playground.
García stressed that the choice of the Alameda de Hércules was not accidental, but rather responds to the fact that it is an area of Seville identified as "rebellious, anti-fascist, working-class, and feminist". He recalled that "we are in the Seville that organized the first LGTBI demonstration in the entire State in 1977: the Alameda".
Harsh criticism of Vox and the PP
In addition to the PP, Santiago Abascal's party was the target of very harsh attacks: "We have unmasked the fascists of Vox, whose only priority is to get rich, take it easy without bending, and keep lying".
The candidate recalled that throughout the campaign, Vox "hasn't said a peep about private healthcare, nor about investment funds that drive out neighbors and take people out of their homes, simply because they work for them".
García, who had words of recognition for his predecessor Teresa Rodríguez, argued that they have been the ones who "ran the best campaign", and thanked the militants and candidates for their dedication and commitment.
"We have shown that it is possible to run an anti-fascist campaign, a campaign critical of the Popular Party, and a campaign proposing a political project for the radical transformation of our society, of our future, and to do so, moreover, with joy and humor," he stressed.
At another point in his speech, he ironized about the videos with "puppies and little cows" in which Moreno appears, highlighting that he does it "with great skill, he looks very good in them, when he is also capable of creating four private universities or privatizing vocational training".
To close his speech, García called for concentrating all progressive votes and going to the polls "remembering the public university, which must be defended tooth and nail, and defending the people who spend a night without sleep because they cannot pay rent". "I call on 99% of the population, on honorable and honest people who live by their work, on students, on all of us who move this society forward, no matter what you have voted for in the past".
The event concluded with the anthem of Andalusia while the candidates posed for the traditional family photo, giving way to the performance of the aforementioned Andalusian rock group.