Podemos Catalunya unblocks the primaries six months later and will elect a leader this summer.

BarcelonaIt has been half a year since the last leader of Podemos Catalunya, Conchi Abellán, resigned In the midst of an internal crisis within the party, which is struggling to survive in Catalonia after breaking with Comuns. The party was then left in the hands of a management team that has had to weather the storm. after leaving the previous address and manage the notorious disagreements between Podemos and Comunes in municipalities where they still shared a group, such as Sant Boi de Llobregat. The primaries to elect a new leader were supposed to be held at the beginning of the year, but the convening of the Podemos state assembly in early April blew the calendar up. However, after the conclave, Podemos Catalunya members still had no news. In fact, there were voices suggesting a delaying tactic by the state leadership because they didn't have a candidate in line with their views. After weeks of the issue being debated, standby, now state and management sources confirm to ARA that the primaries will finally open this June.

The Podemos leadership will announce the calendar on Monday, June 9, along with assemblies affecting other autonomous communities. So far, only one person has stepped forward to publicly announce that they want to lead the party in Catalonia: María Pozuelo, who was the organization secretary under Conchi Abellán. between 2020 and in 2023, and who in the last primaries challenged her for the position of general coordinator. Abellán, the ruling party candidate, won by a narrow margin, but Pozuelo was the candidate with the most votes in the citizens' assembly. Pozuelo joined Abellán's executive committee, but disagreements between the two led the then coordinator to resign a few months later. Despite having left the core leadership, Pozuelo has continued to be present in the daily life of Podemos members in Catalonia, with events and contacts between organizations sympathetic to the party.

Alternative candidacy?

Will there be an alternative candidacy to Pozuelo's? Sources consulted by this newspaper suggest that one could be formed from the grassroots, with rank-and-file members, and assume there will be more. The Pozuelo list has approached councilors from the party to have a "marked municipalist accent" for the 2027 municipal elections, the great challenge they believe lies ahead. One of the great unknowns Podemos will have to resolve is its fit with Comuns. after withdrawing from the 2024 Catalan electionsThe new leadership could give each group free rein to explore agreements or provide guidelines for building candidacies under the Podemos banner. The leadership has announced its intention to run, although there have been calls from the state leadership to sound them out, according to some sources. Andrés Medrano, the party's spokesperson and councilor in Rubí, has ruled out taking over as party leader. Pozuelo sent the leadership a letter expressing his willingness to work on a united candidacy.