Movimiento Sumar has decided to position its coordinator and spokesperson in Congress, Verónica Martínez Barbero, as a reference figure for its integration into the future lists of Frente Amplio, and demands that its political allies conduct the negotiation of the candidacy with "discretion and generosity."
The organization conveys this position after the conversations to choose the person who will lead the candidacy for the general elections on November 29, as well as the weight that each force will assume in that list, have been tense in recent days.
Más Madrid proposed that the head of the list be the former mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, for the Barcelona constituency and, at the same time, demands to occupy the top positions on the list for Madrid with its main representatives. In response, IU and Comuns replied that the conversations remain open and that it is necessary to reach a comprehensive agreement.
On the other hand, Colau has expressed her willingness to be the candidate of Frente Amplio if the space incorporates Podemos and other territorial formations such as Compromís, Chunta Aragonesista, or Més per Mallorca.
Meanwhile, these latter organizations demand a united list led by their own representatives and without integrating organically into Frente Amplio. From Podemos, for its part, the demand for open primaries to define the candidacies has been reiterated.
In this scenario, Movimiento Sumar regrets that in recent days there have been a series of public statements about the proposals of the different organizations for the candidacy, when in their case they have chosen to "remain silent" and maintain the "discretion that we believe any dialogue process should have."
The formation also details that its highest governing body met this Thursday afternoon and gave the green light, with 98% support, for the spokesperson of the Sumar group in Congress and co-leader of the party to lead its electoral representation within Frente Amplio. "Once again, we have done it with discretion and without raising our voices," they claim. Martínez Barbero ran in the previous elections on the lists for Galicia.
Movimiento Sumar warns that the left forces assume a "shared responsibility" with the citizenry and emphasizes that the priority must be to advance in housing policies and in raising the minimum wage.
Claim to recover the initial spirit
For all this, it calls on its partners to return to the negotiating table with the same attitude shown in recent months, with the aim of raising a "common project with generosity and breadth."
"A project where everyone fits and where we make decisions jointly, thinking about all that which is fundamental," Movimiento Sumar has elaborated.
The formation insists that it has its own proposals for Frente Amplio, but emphasizes that it will not comment in the media on specific names or on the methods for choosing candidates.