The federal coordinator of IU, Antonio Maíllo, has urged this Thursday to leave behind "fulanismo," that is, the focus on proper names, and to return to the "substance" of politics. He emphasized that all the people who are being considered to lead the Frente Amplio candidacy seem appropriate to him, including profiles from his own organization.
Likewise, he has stressed that this project can only be a true Frente Amplio if it incorporates the largest possible number of organizations, which again implies an explicit message of an outstretched hand towards Podemos.
"I am going to be fine with the candidate we choose. When they talk to me about the people being referred to, I think all of them are fine, and I think ours are fine too," he pointed out at a press conference held this Thursday in Murcia, where he plans to carry out several events.
His words are framed in the controversy that arose after Más Madrid proposed that the former mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, be the candidate for the Presidency of the Government, heading the list for Barcelona. In this regard, Maíllo himself had already stated this Wednesday that Colau seemed to him a "magnificent candidate" and that he perceived a broad willingness towards her within IU.
TONI VALERO IS A REFERENCE
On the other hand, the coordinator of IU Andalucía, Toni Valero, will run in the internal primaries of the organization to choose the electoral references that will make up the Frente Amplio list in the general elections on November 29.
Maíllo has praised Valero's profile, also a deputy in Congress, highlighting his work in defense of small farmers and the rural world. "He is a formidable reference also in the political space," he emphasized, reiterating his commitment to "abandon fulanismo" and focus on the "substance of politics," that is, on proposals aimed at addressing the needs of citizens.
Furthermore, he reiterated that the very name chosen, Frente Amplio, requires adding the "maximum number of organizations" that share common programmatic principles, as a unitary candidacy is the "instrument" to tackle social problems.
A LEFT FOR THE WHOLE COUNTRY, NOT FRAGMENTED
"In IU we are clear about it. We are a responsible organization in this historic moment and we appeal to incorporate into the Frente Amplio all the organizations that want to be part of that construction of hope," he indicated.
For this reason, he has called to close on October 16, the deadline to register electoral coalitions, a leftist project "as broad as possible" and with a federal vocation, not fragmented by territories, understanding that the working class is the same throughout the country.
LOWER THE PRICE OF THE SHOPPING BASKET
On another note, Maíllo has defended that pressure and social mobilization have been decisive for the alternative left to have managed to "bend" the PSOE and push forward housing decrees with measures such as the extension of contracts or the prohibition of evictions for vulnerable people.
The leader of IU has emphasized that housing will be one of the central axes of the campaign on November 29 and has announced that they will also present initiatives to intervene and lower the cost of basic products in the shopping basket.