Podemos has responded to Frente Amplio emphasizing that its conditions to reach an agreement in Madrid and Catalonia cannot condition or hinder the agreements in the rest of the territories, and demands that this space close an understanding in the majority of autonomous communities where it sees room for it. At the same time, it has emphasized that it is not willing to accept being required to break the collaboration agreement it maintains with ERC.
In a document accessed by Europa Press, Podemos responds to the proposal conveyed by Frente Amplio, which included offering the purple formation preferential starting positions on the lists of Madrid and Catalonia, which would imply the breaking of the 'purple' pact with ERC, its incorporation into all the coalitions in which Frente Amplio was already involved, and the assumption of a co-spokesperson role in Congress, among other elements.
This proposal has not convinced Podemos, which dismisses it and insists on moving forward with agreements without being subordinated to what happens in Madrid and Barcelona. "We propose that Catalonia, where Comuns and ERC are going to compete, and Madrid, the constituency in which the existence or not of agreements does not penalize the vote, constitute singularities that do not prevent the agreement in the rest of the territories," the formation has stated.
In its counteroffer, Podemos proposes to focus on closing agreements in territories such as Extremadura, Euskadi, Cantabria, Galicia, or Murcia, understanding that in these places the agreements are already closed or very advanced and, however, are "blocking from the direction of Frente Amplio." "It is essential to go together in those territories so that not a single leftist vote is lost. And in the same way, it is possible to agree on Andalusia, Castilla y León, Castilla-La Mancha, Asturias, Navarra, and La Rioja," they have emphasized.
The Podemos document claims that its proposal involves allowing territorial organizations, fundamentally Podemos and Izquierda Unida, although it now admits that in some cases Movimiento Sumar is also included, to continue advancing "both in programmatic proposals, resources, and representativeness in the composition of the lists and spokesperson roles."
For this reason, it argues that, in this final phase before the registration of the electoral coalitions, what is necessary is to accompany and conclude those conversations to ensure that "they are fair for all parties," just as, it emphasizes, has already been done in the Canary Islands and in the Valencian Community with unitary candidacies.
Likewise, Podemos claims the collaboration agreement reached with ERC for these elections and the involvement in the campaign of Gabriel Rufián: "We do not accept the demand to break that alliance that is implicit in the proposal you have sent us."
"On the contrary, we believe that collaboration should be strengthened, not rejected," concludes the text, insisting on the idea that Madrid and Catalonia should be treated as an exception, so that separate lists are presented in these two constituencies.
At the same time, sources from Podemos Andalucía have detailed that, of the five constituencies in which a seat was achieved in the 2023 elections in this community, it was proposed that IU lead Málaga, Córdoba, and Cádiz, while Podemos would lead Sevilla and Granada. However, IU chose to promote an agreement with other forces. Similarly, they explain that conversations had been opened in Murcia, Extremadura, Cantabria, and Castilla y León among regional leaders, which were frozen starting at 8:00 PM.