Aina Vidal (Barcelona, ??1985) is the head of the Sumar per Barcelona list. It was a surprise for her to replace Jaume Asens, but her election responds to the need to put the process aside to emphasize labor and social policies. He believes that on the 23rd J we are gambling with “our lives” due to the threat of the PP and Vox and that is why he extends his hand to ERC, which sees Yolanda Díaz as an electoral threat.
She says it was a surprise to be chosen as a candidate. Jaume Asens wanted to repeat.
He made a personal decision, he explains the reasons in a letter and I want to thank him for his spectacular work. The country would not get along without him, because he has contributed to Catalonia being in a very different situation than it was four years ago. We continue to count on him, we are delighted.
Is it true that Podemos negotiated a common list with ERC?
We common people did not lie.
Could the disagreements between Yolanda Díaz and Podemos before the agreement take their toll?
I do not think so. Nothing like this had ever been achieved in a democracy. For 15 formations to agree involves combining different wills, but I am proud that the commons have been part of it. It is historical.
How is the demobilization of the left reversed?
People are very aware of the situation. Human lives are at stake in these elections. The alliance of hate means going back on elementary things like language, the territorial fact, gender violence, the rights of groups like trans people… We are gambling with our lives. Part of the demobilization comes because we spend the day talking about ourselves and that must change in the campaign.
To what do you attribute the rise of the extreme right in Spain?
In reality there are not many more, what is happening is that the right has exploded and this is not very well explained. With the disappearance of Ciutadans, their votes migrate to other similar options. But who is really divided is the right.
Don’t you see Pedro Sánchez combative enough?
We are discovering a Pedro Sánchez that if he had stepped on the media like he is doing now maybe the situation would be different. But it is very sad that at this time they want to convince us to vote out of fear. This is what the PSOE appeals to when it talks about consolidating the vote. I expect the PSOE to run a positive campaign because scaring people doesn’t work. People don’t mobilize out of fear, they mobilize out of hope.
Do you agree with him when he denounces that the right tries to dehumanize him?
It has not only happened with Sánchez. The right-wing media has crossed many red lines. The persecution suffered by, for example, Irene Montero and Pablo Iglesias is unacceptable in a democracy, and Sánchez has also been one of the people affected.
Would a new coalition government be more pleasant?
There are discrepancies, but it doesn’t have to be traumatic. Different parts and it is enriching to agree. This is not a matter of communication but of defending your positions in the Council of Ministers, we have a lioness there.
Sánchez and Pablo Iglesias are sexists, as Díaz says?
Deep down we all are. We grew up in a society that is sexist and sexism is structural. We need to build ourselves differently and feminism has become one of the most important engines of transformation. I think that’s what Yolanda was referring to. It is unfortunate that Sánchez talks about “friends” or withdraws issues related to feminism. And the PP has rolled out a red carpet for Vox.
The Prime Minister points to the “unwanted effects” of the yes-yes-only law. Was it all the judges fault?
This law makes us pioneers because it introduces consent in the Penal Code. It is revolutionary, but the law goes much further. A much more comprehensive policy is needed and this is what the law does in the field of education, the training of police forces and among judges.
But it had to be corrected…
All laws can be improved, but I am sure that the PP will not defend women’s rights. It is not credible that the PSOE will carry out a reform within the framework of feminism together with the PP.
ERC has been very belligerent with Yolanda Díaz. Will it be necessary to rebuild bridges?
We want to build bridges with ERC, of ??course. This is an election in which the entire left must come together and not confuse each other as the enemy. But ERC also needs to think. They have had complicated moments, such as the labor reform vote with the PP and Vox.
And what about Puigdemont?
I want to be cautious, but we must continue in the line we have defended: the dejudicialization of politics. We have made a lot of progress but there is still a long way to go and this is a good example. The path is the same: de-judicialisation, dialogue and pushing the PSOE to take steps in this direction.
Sumar will bring the referendum to his program, but what solution do they propose for Catalonia?
We have learned that progress is made through dialogue. We will not give up on the referendum because it is part of our ideology, but it is not only about the referendum, but about Neighborhoods, funding, powers… National rights must be compatible with social rights and Catalonia deserves to advance in both subjects.
If the PP governs, will processism re-emerge?
I do not know. If the PP governs, it will mean a cut in our lives. We see it wherever they govern. No one in Catalonia believes that a PP and Vox government can be beneficial or that we can survive the Gloria storm that this ticket entails.
