The left alternative failed in its attempt to obtain a united candidacy in Aragon and will participate in the elections of February 8 divided with up to three independent candidates: that of Chunta Aragonesist, Can And User interface And Add.
The “in extremis” negotiations between parties to seek a broad front that would bring together the space in a single list, given that this Friday the legal deadline for registering the coalitions for these elections, did not succeed amid reproaches from cross vetoes and contact leaks.
In this way, the experience of the United for Extremadura coalition, which achieved a good result in the elections in this region on December 21, will not be repeated in Aragon. Tested tensions within left-wing parties at the state and regional level are being imposed again, abort alliances and leave the case of Extremadura as an exception to what also happened in the 2024 cycle, where there was also an electoral division.
La Chunta excludes the broad forehead
Therefore, Chunta, IU and Podemos will once again compete electorally in this region, as happened in the last elections in 2023. In fact, these formations They never came together in community and the left maintains the dynamic of electoral fragmentation.
This morning the Chunta Aragonesista excluded a single unitary applicationgiven that a common negotiating table was not established with Podemos, IU and Sumar as they demanded. In addition, they disfigured the fact that state formations were immersed in cross vetoes and recriminated the “Games of Thrones” from Madrid.
They also clarified that the Congress deputy assigned to the Sumar group, Jorge Pueyo, will be the Chunta candidate for the presidency of the Government of Aragon and will be head of the list for the Zaragoza constituency in front of the general secretary of CHA, Isabelle Lasobraswho ultimately did not appear in the primaries.
We can show up alone
For its part, Podemos confirmed this evening that it would present its own candidacy in these elections and criticized other left-wing parties. not having accepted his proposal to emulate a United for Extremadura type coalition in this community.
An implicit message to IU, who converged with them and Alianza Verde in the Extremadura elections without Sumar. In any case, Podemos defended that its candidacy was “essential” and “clearly left-wing” against the drift of the PSOE.
This morning there were contacts between Podemos and IU, according to sources close to these conversations, but they did not bear fruit. Other sources believe that the agreement was weakened by the position of Podemos state leaders.
In recent days, the “violets” have opened up on a broad front and have even shown themselves willing to explore agreements with Chunta, although they are not their natural ally, but kept the Movimiento Sumar out of the equation, project that he considers failed and subordinate to the PSOE. However, she ultimately did not succeed in excluding from these elections the formation created by the second vice-president.
And in the end, IU competes with Sumar in a coalition they recorded tonight, in the absence of an agreement with Podemos and this despite the fact that he also called for a broad left front.
The Sumar Movement, which was excluded from the Extremadura elections because it did not appear as a party in the Unidas por Extremadura candidacy and was only present with a late position as an independent, In the end, it fulfills the primary objective of participating in regional elections with one of its main allies at the state level, despite its limited territorial structure.
Competition between parties sharing a group
The list shared by the two parties, which should be led by IU although the details of the list and program will be presented at a press conference this Saturday in Zaragoza, showed that its candidacy represents the “possible and real unity” and that his project is to expand the space of the alternative left in Aragon.
However, IU and Sumar Movement They will compete electorally with one of their allies in Congress like Chunta, although the formation will find itself without a representative in the chamber if Pueyo recovers its minutes, given that the second on the list of the 23J elections in Zaragoza is Laura Vergara, due to Sumar’s quota.
Sources from this coalition had already warned that the Aragonese formation There was not much of a culture of alliances at the regional level. (contrary to the trend at the state level) and its internal cohesion between the different sectors of the Chunta should also prevail.
However, after the Extremadura affair, IU and Sumar are running for office together again as happened in the last Galician, Basque and European elections, where they faced Podemos.
The possibility that in the province of Teruel there is a test of unity between the partiessince in this constituency the possibility of being able to wrest from the PP a seat that could be key for these elections was highlighted.
For their part, at IU they have already emphasized that although their desire was to repeat a broad front like in Extremadura, electoral fragmentation in Aragon penalizes less and, for demographic reasons, the entire left can obtain representation in Zaragoza.
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