Colau's Broad Front loses one of its two 'sects'

BarcelonaFor days, the Broad Front and Podemos have been blaming each other for the failure of left-wing unity ahead of November 29th. The candidacy led by Ada Colau boasts of having brought together fifteen different parties under its banner, although the four main parties have been the ones leading the way: Comuns, Sumar, Más Madrid, and United Left (IU). Now there will be fourteen, as confirmed by ARA, because one of the two sects that had joined has pulled out of the Broad Front. The Humanist Party, founded in 1984 under the umbrella of the IU—and which left two years later amidst accusations of sectarianism—, has finally rejected the offer after consulting its membership.

Zero Cuts is another of the five parties that announced their incorporation into the left-wing coalition on October 16th, with the desire to “add sensitivities in defense of public services, the right to housing, environmentalism, pacifism, and feminism.” Once again, a party that experts consider a sect due to its recruitment and coercive control dynamics.

“The specific cases of the Communist Unification of Spain (now Zero Cuts) and the Humanist Party are the cases of two sects that pass themselves off as political parties in their strategy of recruitment, manipulation, and indoctrination,” states Luis Santamaría, a researcher at the Ibero-American Network for the Study of Sects (RIES), in statements to ARA. However, he specifies that these are not conventional formations that have developed sectarian behaviors, but rather organizations that, according to him, adopt the form of a party to expand their influence.

An unquestionable leader and coercive influence

To understand what differentiates a cult from a political organization with a hierarchical structure, Miguel Perlado, a psychologist, expert on cults and president of the European Society for Influence & Coercive Control in Groups (EUSIC), proposes three criteria: the existence of a self-proclaimed and unquestionable leadership, the use of excessive or coercive influence, and the generation of harm to members, their families, or society. “The first important piece is a self-proclaimed, grandiose leadership, to which absolute devotion must be paid,” he explains.

The second element is an influence that goes beyond what is usual in any human group. It is not about adherence to ideas or internal discipline, but about a dynamic that can end up generating dependency and monopolizing the members' lives. The third criterion is the damage that results from it, whether economic, personal, or emotional, including the breaking of family ties.

Perlado warns that "the line is very thin": there is no exact border between a conventional political organization and one that presents cult-like dynamics. A pyramidal structure, strong leadership, or the absence of primaries do not, by themselves, constitute proof of coercion. It is necessary to examine how the group functions, what margin the membership has to question its decisions, and what consequences belonging to the organization has.

From the Communist Unification to Siloism

The Communist Unification of Spain (UCE), of Maoist origin, has been pointed out as a sect in specialized bibliography since the eighties, explains Santamaría. The researcher maintains that the organization demands an adherence from its followers that far exceeds ordinary political commitment, and that it uses coercive persuasion techniques. The second case is that of the Humanist Party, which Santamaría links to La Comunidad, currently called La Comunidad para el Desarrollo Humano, an organization that emerged in Argentina around Mario Rodríguez Cobos, known as Silo. According to the researcher, the party is the most recognizable front entity of this movement. The relationship between both organizations already generated controversy in 1986, when the Humanist Party joined the United Left and, months later, left it at the request of its coalition partners.

Sources from the Humanist Party explain that there were negotiations to run jointly on the lists with the Broad Front, since they have a "good relationship with some of its members". "We sent them a letter in which we encouraged them to work for a single left-wing candidacy. We received the invitation to join them on the night of October 15, we conducted a quick consultation among the membership and the result was no", explain sources from the formation. Although the Broad Front announced that the Humanist Party was joining the candidacy, it never actually joined.

Politics as a source of legitimacy

Perlado points out that joining an electoral coalition can bring various benefits to organizations with sectarian dynamics: reinforcing the internal narrative, obtaining external legitimacy, establishing contacts, and expanding the capacity for influence. "Entering the political arena, apart from legitimizing one's own narrative both internally and externally, enables contact with potential people who will open more doors for you," he explains.

The psychologist warns of a social context that he considers conducive to the spread of these dynamics: polarization and discourses that simplify reality into opposing sides. Since the pandemic, he observes a confluence between conspiracy, alternative, environmental, and New Age movement narratives with proposals seeking political legitimacy. This does not mean, he clarifies, that there are necessarily more sects than before, but rather that a dichotomous way of thinking is spreading, which can hinder dialogue and trivialize the risks.