The Secretary General of Podemos, Ione Belarra, has called on the formations integrated into Sumar to reconsider their stance and accept their participation in the open primaries set for the 14th and 15th of October, arguing that it is the only mechanism to raise a "strong" left-wing candidacy.
Furthermore, she emphasized that the "principles" of democracy are "fundamental" in politics, especially in the realm of the left, and guaranteed that, whatever happens, those open primaries will take place. She also encouraged not only the parties to get involved but also social and union organizations.
"I believe that right now everyone is seeing the loop and I think that the leftist people of this country, who want to vote for the transformative left, want us to get out of the loop and the only way to get out of that loop is with primaries, it is to give the word back to the people," she highlighted at a press conference in Congress.
From the Sumar environment, its parties have currently ruled out the formula of open primaries. They have replied to the 'purples' that they do not wish to transfer an internal debate to the media, that any agreement cannot be limited to the election system of the candidacy, and that Podemos already has a seat to negotiate its fit in the new electoral proposal they are promoting under the brand Frente Amplio. "Better to agree than to compete among ourselves," pointed out the spokesperson for Sumar, Verónica Barbero.
In response, Belarra insisted that all organizations must understand that the "best path" is to organize those primaries and announced that they will dialogue with "everyone" to invite them to join, sending a very concrete proposal on how to articulate the process. "I think the decision is clear, with primaries or we remain in a loop which is not what the people want," she concluded.
THE FOCUS IS ON THOSE WHO REJECT PRIMARIES
Sources from the 'purple' party have emphasized that the attention should not be focused on their stance, but on why there are organizations, referring to the Frente Amplio space, that do not wish to hold primaries when even the PSOE resorts to this system.
In this line, they deny that the process implies a direct struggle between parties, considering that it is possible to agree on lists and then submit them to the vote of the bases of the left. However, they estimate that the ideal candidate for the upcoming elections is the former minister Irene Montero and, for this reason, they defend that there is room for other options to be presented if there are forces that do not share that criterion.
Therefore, they will keep the primaries in place, which they see as technically viable and for which they are preparing a detailed document, so that it is available in case other organizations, like IU, decide to join. They remind that IU also resorts to an internal primary system to choose its electoral representatives.
Within Podemos, they do not consider it acceptable to occupy a seat within Frente Amplio, as has been offered to them, understanding that it is a political space that corresponds to Sumar, IU, Comuns, and Más Madrid, and that from the outside it is perceived that they are facing difficulties in closing agreements.