The movements to facilitate a coalition between Podemos and Sumar, which would also include Ezker Anitza-IU and Equo-Berdeak, are not going as expected. The agreement should have been closed before the end of the year, as desired by the purple formation, or, otherwise, these matches should at least offer signs of rapprochement at the beginning of 2024, something that is far from happening. This is evidenced by Sumar’s latest move, which has publicly proposed Alba García as a candidate for lehendakari.
The decision has caused “surprise” in the purple party, which has been publicly betting on Miren Gorrotxategi, its current spokesperson in the Basque Parliament and candidate in 2020, as the head of the list. The purple formation remains in this position, and Sumar’s movement reflects, in this sense, that far from bringing positions closer together regarding one of the great obstacles of the negotiation – the election of the candidate – the positions are moving apart.
The conversations between Podemos and Sumar in Euskadi, which curiously feature, on one side of the table, the current leadership of the purple formation and, on the other, the previous leadership of the party, today in Sumar, have not been broken, although it is about see the paths they take after being unable to close ranks around a candidate. The general context, furthermore, works against the agreement, especially after the precedent in Galicia, where the Podemos bases overturned the agreement.
Alba García was number 3 in Bilbao in the last municipal elections after finishing second in the Podemos primaries, and was part of the electoral coordination team of the purples in the municipal and general elections. Then, they participated in a coalition with Ezker Anitza-IU, Berdeak Equo and Alianza Verde, although they only achieved two councilors.
The psychologist from Bilbao, however, has aligned herself with Sumar Mugimendua, a brand of this training in Euskadi, led by Lander Martínez, deputy for Bizkaia from Yolanda Díaz’s training.
Sumar Mugimendua has indicated that he proposes Alba García because he understands that a “renewal” is necessary in an election in which the main parties have opted for generational change with Imanol Pradales (PNV), Pello Otxandiano (Bildu) and Eneko Andueza (PSE -EE).
“In this change of cycle that is opening in Euskadi, and in response to citizen demand, Sumar Mugimendua is committed to giving the floor to the generations of young people who, like Alba García Martín, know first-hand the political experience because they have called to participate actively in social movements, associations and political parties,” said Lander Martínez’s formation.
Sumar has considered that Alba García is “the ideal candidate to represent the whole of our political proposal and accompany the rest of the candidates who will be a sample of contemporary, diverse and plural Euskadi.”
Alba García (Bilbao, 1988) is a psychologist, with a master’s degree in Psychology of Social Intervention, a field in which she has worked in recent years.
Sumar has highlighted her involvement with social movements and her feminist and anti-racist militancy, in addition to knowing “first-hand the Basque institutional situation, especially at the municipal level, but having worked at other institutional levels such as General Meetings, the Basque Parliament and the Congress of the Deputies”.
The party has also stressed that it represents a commitment to the “feminization” of politics, since it will be the only woman candidate for lehendakari among the major parties, something that, in any case, it shares with the candidate proposed by Podemos, Miren Gorrotxategi.
