The co-coordinator general of Movimiento Sumar and candidate in the leading positions of the Frente Amplio por Madrid list, Verónica Barbero, has labeled the agreement sealed between PP and Vox to run with joint lists for the Senate in several provinces as a "botch job," while defending that she "trusts in the intelligence of the citizens."
"We trust in the intelligence of the citizens of this country, that the Senate cannot continue to be hijacked by forces that only intend to use it to create commissions and obtain money," Barbero supported in an interview on 'RNE', reported by Europa Press, while describing the alliance between PP and Vox as a "chaotic and very botched" pact.
When questioned about the agreement between Frente Amplio and PSOE, in contrast to the closed formula by PP and Vox for the Upper House, Barbero insisted that they are not comparable because in politics "the purposes do matter" and reiterated that the Senate should not become an instrument "at the service of a minority of elites," a goal she attributed to the two right-wing formations.
"We want to govern to, for example, intervene in the housing market in favor of the people, of the working class of this country, and we want to be in the Senate with a majority to prevent it from becoming something that does not correspond according to our Constitution and our democracy," she emphasized.
In this line, Barbero downplayed the lack of understanding with Podemos after no pact was reached and stressed the need to overcome that disagreement: ""We must forget the drama, look to the future, and stop looking at ourselves."
"Systematic strategy of ultra provocation" in Barcelona and Bilbao
Regarding the recent disturbances in Barcelona, where the Mossos detained 128 minors, and the incidents in Bilbao, with vehicles set on fire and clashes with the Ertzaintza, Barbero linked them to "a systematic strategy of ultra provocation" that seeks to "destabilize the campaign" and "interfere in an election to win what they do not win at the polls," relating these episodes to the interests of the right.
The spokesperson described what happened in Bilbao as a "clear attempt by agitators like Vito Quiles to destabilize the campaign and generate incidents," with the aim that, one month before the elections, media attention focuses on street violence and not on "pensions or housing."
In this context, Barbero has argued that violence "benefits the far right and the right" and has pointed directly to PP and Vox, because, in his opinion, the only way they would have to gain the support of a social majority "is fear," accusing them of resorting to tactics similar to those used by Donald Trump.