The co-coordinator of Movimiento Sumar and parliamentary spokesperson in Congress, Verónica Martínez Barbero, has emphasized that the spokesperson for ERC in the Lower House, Gabriel Rufián, is an "immense electoral asset" and that, if necessary, they will keep the "phones on" in case he ultimately decides to join Frente Amplio.
"We have all the phones waiting for if that is the case, that Gabriel Rufián wants to be in Frente Amplio, we can take that call," she indicated in an interview on "TVE," reported by Europa Press, when asked if they are keeping the phone open to Rufián in light of the new electoral project they are promoting, while Frente Amplio negotiates who should be its candidate for the elections on November 29.
The spokesperson for Sumar has advanced that it will not be necessary to wait until October 17, the date on which the candidacy of Frente Amplio will be officially presented, to know who will head the list, and has assured that they will choose the most suitable person to perform that function.
Martínez Barbero has pointed out that they have relevant figures such as the former mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, whom they consider and appreciate "very much" in the organizations behind Frente Amplio, although she has emphasized that the final decision will be consensual among all the formations and that this is the "moment to close the microphones and turn on the phones."
Those phones, she stressed, will also remain open for Rufián, whom she described as someone who "has massive support among the leftist citizens of this country," with notable weight and great visibility among the youth. "He is an immense electoral asset and therefore, we have always said, the more the better and he is a very important person on the left of this country," she reiterated.
The spokesperson for ERC in Congress expressed this Thursday his willingness to continue representing ERC alongside other leftist and antifascist forces: "And I will try until the end. And hopefully ERC will also want it," he wrote on social media, after it became known that the deputy spokesperson for the republicans in the Parlament, Jordi Albert, is collecting endorsements as a candidate to integrate into the ERC lists for the general elections.
Willing to negotiate with the PSOE for unity in the Senate
About the option of a joint candidacy for the Senate between the alternative left and the PSOE, Martínez Barbero has emphasized that this confluence responds to a demand from civil society, promoted by a platform that has already gathered numerous signatures of support, and that in Movimiento Sumar they are addressing that claim.
"We are going to do everything possible, obviously, to respond to that request," he added, specifying that they are maintaining contacts with the PSOE to explore that avenue.
Calls for responsibility from Podemos
Regarding a possible agreement with Podemos and the demand from this formation to hold open primaries as a condition for unity with the parties of Frente Amplio, the parliamentary spokesperson explained that the new space seeks to offer a stable and long-term project to the leftist electorate, which should not be forced to reconsider everything "every four years."
At the same time, she expressed confidence that the leftist forces will run together in the elections on November 29, although she warned that a coalition cannot be reduced solely to the system of electing the candidate for the Presidency of the Government.
"I would ask for responsibility in this regard from everyone and would not veto anything," Martínez Barbero demanded, insisting that in Frente Amplio there is a willingness to reach an understanding with Podemos and with other organizations. Furthermore, she reiterated her call to the 'purples' not to take "to the absurd" such a complex and highly relevant process as building a unitary candidacy.