During her visit to the community of Valencia, Yolanda Díaz had one of the most difficult stops in the caravan of events that she is carrying out in the campaign for the regional and municipal elections of May 28. The second vice-president, appointed at the time by Unidas Podemos, argued for this coalition or compromise during the development of these electoral acts, the hegemonic power of the progressive space of the region, and which Díaz winked at. sum formation. The result was the Solomonic Decision: strong support for the UP candidate for the Generalitat, Hector Ilueca, and the population was urged to vote to re-endorse the mayoralty held by compromise leader Joan Ribault.
The act, which was programmed on Wednesday in Alicante, did not raise many doubts. A campaign rally organized by Unides Podem with the participation of local candidates and Ilueca himself. The image had strong symbolic power: one of Podemos’ main regional heavyweights on the same stage as Díaz after months of tension with Ion Bellara’s party. Purple T-shirts were distributed throughout the community and the leaders were greeted warmly with shouts of “Yes, we can,” some accompanied by fist bumps, others with rhythmic applause.
“The game is played here, in names and surnames, in the name of Hector Ilueca, this is the assurance of Botany, the government of progress, that we continue to rule the common people,” cried the minister of labor. “It is very clear that the people of Valencia want social rights, dignity, minimum wage, feminism… They want joy, another way (…) We have to defeat them politically, this voice is called Unides Podem and this voice was called Hector Ilueca. Yes, you can,” he encouraged later. Yolanda Díaz appealed for a “concentration of votes” to allow the PSOE, Compromise and the current government of Ilueca to be re-issued. According to studies, this opportunity for a third botanical pact passes through the parliament by entering the list of confederation spaces.
“Give Ribo an opportunity to keep the mayor’s office”
The second scene is programmed from the Valencia beach of El Saler. A large group of environmentalists belonging to the platforms of the Comissió Ciutat-Port gathered there this Wednesday to try to explain to the Vice-President the negative impact of the presence of the city port, which the government (PSOE) decided to expand. From the sands of the beach washed by the polluted sea, the giant cranes of the port and the silhouettes of cargo ships can be seen on the horizon, which could multiply if the project goes ahead.
The purpose of the visit, organized by the group itself, was to take advantage of the Vice President’s presence to strengthen his fight against the macro project before public opinion. But the eyes of political journalists were directed elsewhere: specifically on the balancing act, which expected the presence of two candidates from the left of the PSOE in the city, Mayor Ribault and the candidate of Unites Podem. Pilar Lima.
After the walk, Díaz made several statements to express his rejection of the project, which has the approval of the socialist part of the national government, and then took the opportunity to explain the reason for his presence in the city during the election period. “I ask the people of Valencia to make it possible for the City Hall of Valencia to continue in the hands of Joan Ribault with the support of the progressive forces,” he said before looking watchfully at Pilar Lima behind him. Cross-examined whether he was soliciting votes for the Unides Podem candidate.
Yolanda Díaz’s strategy makes sense in this community, despite the discomfort that arises on one side and on the other by supporting first Ilueca and then Ribo, both formations understand. The candidacy of Unides Podem in the community is crucial for the left to retain the options of re-verifying the government, and the difference between 4.9% and 5% would mean going from zero to seven in the regional parliament. And as a result, an almost certain victory for the PP, which will resume power. Although most polls show a close scenario in this fight, those around Ilueka are calm and believe that they will exceed this percentage. They argue that in recent days voters have been moved away from compromise, something that polls fail to capture.
But the situation is different in the city, where Unides Podem currently has no representation and where Lima is also struggling to overcome the representation barrier, but from a more difficult starting position. In order for the PP not to regain the baton of command – in a city where it has not governed since 2015, when Rita Barbera lost the government in which it sat uninterruptedly since 1991 – it is necessary for the compromise to show its muscle once again. Four years ago, but with the warning that the pollsters had already imposed on him: the difference between the leftists and the rightists was barely 200 votes.
However, the statements of Yolanda Díaz in favor of Ribo immediately felt bad in Unides Podem, which considered that the walk in El Saler would be a non-electoral act and on which it was not planned, they regret that the minister did such an action. A clear position for his electoral rival, especially when Lima, who left in the middle of Diaz’s announcements to attend another rally, was still present when the minister publicly grilled the mayor.
Indignation in some sectors of the coalition was later calmed by Podemos sources in the public who understood the vice president’s move. “Yolanda Díaz has said she wants Ribeau to continue as mayor with the support of the remaining progressive forces. What implies the vote and the entry of Unides Podem as a condition to be able to do so,” who appreciated Lima’s presence at the event. “Today it was important to confirm our position against the expansion of the port, which could threaten such important ecosystems of Albufeira or the beaches that Valencians enjoy,” the same sources said.
On the compromise side, they didn’t show too much concern about Diaz’s support for Ilueca on Wednesday, which was in any case much louder than the presence at the campaign rally implies. “We are focused on what is ours,” said Joan Baldovi, candidate of the Valencian coalition for the Generalitat, on Thursday. “I am of that age, I can see everything clearly; I am running a campaign, I think it is very clean, elegant, focused on our proposals, on what we have achieved in these eight years, and everything seems perfect to me,” he said. “I’m not going to fight anyone for some statements,” he added.
Preliminary negotiations with Sumar
The difficulties that Yolanda Díaz had in building this campaign – not only in Valencia, but also in Madrid – are directly related to Sumar, the project that the second vice-president is planning to unify the left of the PSOE as a whole. same platform. To formulate his platform, Díaz began talking with the forces of the progressive space before the elections, but this occasion of dialogue was postponed after this campaign, at the request of Madrid and a compromise, which rejected real negotiations after these elections. These formations, more regionalist or localist in nature, play a big role in their prestige.
Yolanda Díaz’s ambition includes restoring the space of unity created in 2015 around Unidas Podemos and expanding it even further, but for this she has the difficult goal of reconciling the parties that broke directly from the formation led by Ione Bellara or with whom. Relationships that were once good but have deteriorated over time. As of 28 million years, negotiations will begin for the formation of a list of generals, where the first stone will be the resolution of the tension experienced in this campaign in places such as Valencia or Pradera de San Isidro last week.
Source: El Diario
