Gerardo Pisarello defeats Bob Pop and will be BComú's mayoral candidate in 2027

BarcelonaBarcelona en Comú has chosen its successor to Ada Colau for the 2027 elections. Member of Parliament Gerardo Pisarello defeated comedian and writer Bob Pop in the party's first primary and will be the candidate for the next municipal elections. Pisarello received 68.6% of the vote, while Bob Pop, who shook up BComú by unexpectedly stepping forward, convinced 27% of registered members who voted. A total of 9,000 people were eligible to participate in the process, and 1,525 cast ballots. There were 4.4% blank votes. The former deputy mayor in Colau's administration has teamed up with councilor Carol Recio, who will be number two on his list.

Throughout his campaign, Pisarello (Tucumán, Argentina, 1970) has advocated for a broad left-wing front in the city, forging alliances with progressive parties to confront the far right, but also with social movements. Pisarello was one of the founders of Barcelona en Comú a decade ago, and for years he was one of the figures closest to Podemos, until his split with Sumar. He was the preferred candidate of the party leadership and, therefore, the establishment candidate, as was demonstrated when he officially announced his candidacy. with Colau and the Minister of Culture, Ernest UrtasunPisarello, a key figure in the Comuns party in Madrid, has distanced himself from this label, asserting that despite his institutional career, he is neither part of the establishment nor has he lost touch with the people. "Barcelona has never had a mayor of foreign origin, a defender of the language, and a friend of the republican movements in the rest of the Peninsula. My own trajectory may be interesting in a world where similar candidacies, like Mamdani's in New York, are also gaining ground," he said. he told the ARA newspaper. In an internal email to party members on the last day of the campaign, both he and Recio asked for votes, admitting that BComú "is not enough" with what it has done so far to have any chance of governing: "We need to open up more, rely much more on the assemblies, debate more and better, strengthen the community muscle that made us unstoppable.

On the other side, Bob Pop had presented himself as a "catalyst" for the party and a media mouthpiece to try to reach other voters and mobilize the left, avoiding pessimism. "We can stay in our comfort zone and just resist. “Or we can open up with the boldness that the moment demands,” his campaign stated in its final message to party members. Bob Pop had teamed up with Mar Trallero, a founding member of BComú and an activist in Sant Antoni. Sources within the campaign celebrate that, despite not winning, they managed to “shift the campaign’s focus” and bring media attention to Comuns, at a time when the party needs the public to know who the successor to its most recognizable figure, Ada Colau, is.

Electoral Strategy

Barcelona en Comú has a year and a half to prepare an electoral strategy that will allow it to overcome the slump predicted by the polls. It currently holds 9 council seats, a result it achieved when Colau still led the list, before stepping down a year later. The decision to invest Jaume Collboni without asking for anything in return, to prevent Xavier Trias from becoming mayor, continues to weigh heavily within the party, which will have to face another challenge if the Socialists come out on top, as the polls also predict.

What scenario unfolds from now on? Pisarello has committed to reorganizing his responsibilities in Madrid so he can be more present in Barcelona – he is currently the secretary of the Sumar party's board in Congress. In addition, along with Recio, he will have to draw up the list for 2027: they will be able to choose the members up to number 5, and here we will have to see if they extend a hand to Bob Pop or someone from his candidacy. In an interview with this newspaper, Bob Pop expressed his willingness to collaborate with Pisarello's candidacy if asked, even offering to run as a city councilor. In any case, Pisarello has already stated that they want to include figures from the political space, such as councilor Jess González and activist Alícia Puig. Positions 6 through 10 will have to be filled through another primary election.