The “Sumar artifact”, as it was called in its genesis, begins to take shape as a political entity two weeks before its founding assembly on March 23. And its management core will include a good part of the circle of trust of its leader, Yolanda Díaz, in which the Secretaries of State for Social Economy, Amparo Merino, and Social Rights, Rosa Martínez, stand out, as well as the spokespersons for the Ernest formation. Urtasun and Íñigo Errejón.
Díaz’s entourage explains that there will be, for the moment, no room for leaders of some of the coalition formations, such as Más Madrid, IU, los Comunes, Verdes Equo, Contigo or the Andalusian People’s Initiative. Although these may enter a second phase and within the 30% quota that Sumar has agreed to reserve in its direction for the rest of the associated parties with which they will try to channel the “transformative push of the street.” In this way, it is understood that Urtasun and Errejón, to give two examples, prioritize their militancy in Sumar over that of their parties of origin since they are part of the “Sumar quota.”
The second vice president will have to measure herself against an alternative list emanating from the Sumar working groups in the Balearic Islands. And the chosen formula is proportional so if Díaz’s list obtains, for example, 75% of the votes, the percentage of members of the list that she will include in the Executive will be 75%. “We do not want to compete between individuals but rather compete for solid integration,” she points out. Although the control that Díaz maintains over the citizen movement with which she went to the polls in the last general elections makes it difficult to think that it is not a mere procedure.
Once the lists have been validated, it will be the Assembly, in which all Sumar members participate – nearly 70,000 registered adults who are up to date with their dues – who will elect the governing body.
Sumar sources revealed this Friday the bulk of the members proposed by Díaz for his future Executive and in which, respecting parity between sexes, there are up to 80 political and civil society representatives. A “diverse group that draws from the different debates carried out through the different territorial assemblies” and that has many similarities with the promoter group.
“We understand that this group represented quite well what we wanted to represent,” argue the same sources, “and that it is aimed at capturing the listening processes” outside the usual channels of traditional political parties, which they often consider “self-absorbed.” “and “away” from citizens.
On the official list, announced yesterday, there are also three deputies in Congress, Esther Gil de Reboleño, Lander Martínez and Manuel Lago – a trusted economist of the vice president -, and a MEP from Unidas Podemos, María Eugenia Rodríguez Palop – who already She was coordinator of Sumar’s electoral program, as well as its spokesperson for Feminisms and LGBTI, Elizabeth Duval.
The co-author of the political presentation and former deputy and former candidate for the Galician elections, Marta Lois, and Carlos Corrochano, who together with Paula Moreno acted as spokesperson for Sumar until the general elections were called in July, complete the list that will be drawn from. the future Executive of Sumar.
Also on the list, although in lower starting positions, are the former councilor of Ahora Madrid Guillermo Zapata, the former leader of Podemos in Madrid and deputy mayor of Alcorcón, Jesús Santos, the former Minister of Universities Joan Subirats and the philosopher José Luis Villacañas.
Throughout this process, the IU leadership defended last week that the best formula for the coexistence of political and social organizations within Sumar is the federation of parties, without “asymmetries” between formations and territories, and with coordination mechanisms that respect the autonomy of all actors.
Meanwhile, at the internal level of training, the objective is set to strengthen the reinforcement of IU, both in its territorial implementation (bragging about its municipal roots) and in its organizational “solidity”, but without “isolation” or “corporatism”.
This is clear from the first draft of the political and organizational presentation prepared by the IU Executive for its next federal assembly, which will end on May 18 and 19, and approved by the Federal Coordinator, its highest management body, which includes their position regarding the organizational deployment of Sumar.
“We believe that the best formula for parties, social organizations and people to coexist is the ‘Federation of Parties’ where the relationships and powers of each actor are regulated,” the draft of the document delves into, which thus proposes the model that was precisely used IU for its emergence in 1986, understanding that it is ideal for the recognition of all parts of the confluence.
It also makes clear, as in previous resolutions of the Federal Coordinator, the commitment to the “consolidation and democratization” of the Sumar space, whose mission is to bring together the left organized in parties, social groups and unions.
