Immigration: Podemos's goldmine for differentiating itself from Comuns

BarcelonaComuns i Podem (Communs and Podemos) continue their separate paths in Catalonia since the split between the purple party and Sumar in Spain. The rift between the two parties made a joint list impossible in the 2024 Catalan elections, where Podemos, without a candidate and with a damaged leadership of death, chose not to run. They did, however, in the European elections, where the candidacy led by Irene Montero overtook the one captained by Jaume Asens in Catalonia. But, beyond Podemos' constant barbs in Sumar over its relationship with the PSOE, the programmatic differences between them have so far been barely palpable, to the point that within both groups, the directive has circulated to try to distance themselves from each other in order to compete for their own electorate—quite a handicap considering that, in some municipalities. However, the transfer of immigration powers to Catalonia, agreed between the PSOE and Junts, has marked a turning point in this dynamic. Podemos overthrew him, along with PP and Vox, while the Commons chose to defend him despite the internal division within Sumar.

Picking up on the positioning of the Regularization Now entityPodemos refused to vote on the transfer, arguing that the text was "racist" for linking the saturation of public services to population growth, allocating more Mossos d'Esquadra officers to immigration enforcement, and portraying immigration as a factor that could put cohesion "at risk." The Lilacs also argued that if Junts was now claiming these powers, it was not to improve the living conditions of migrants, but to prevent voter displacement to the Catalan Alliance. On the contrary, the text also recognized the contribution of migrants to the Spanish economy and transferred the management of the CIE (Centralized Civil Guard) to the Generalitat (Catalan Government), which had set up a working group to study what resources would be needed to deploy these powers.

"They're following the PSOE"

Sources within the leadership of Podemos Catalunya reiterate to ARA that they are in favor of greater self-government and, therefore, are prepared to speak again in the future. Their condition is that the Popular Legislative Initiative (PIL) for Regularization Now (PRI) is unblocked, to provide papers for more than half a million migrants, either with a change in Juntos' position in Congress or with a gesture from the Spanish government, approving it by decree. In this regard, they regret that ERC and Comuns did not leverage their efforts to achieve this and recall that leaders such as Gabriel Rufián (ERC) and Gerardo Pisarello (COMUNS) admitted that the law had aspects they did not like. "They follow the PSOE, but there are things you can't ignore," laments a leader of the purple party.

In fact, during the parliamentary debate, Comuns spokesperson Aina Vidal acknowledged that, had the text passed consideration, Sumar would have introduced amendments to the preamble and the text. However, she defended her vote in favor, despite assuming that Junts was presenting this proposal with "the polls" in mind: "But powers don't belong to a party. They belong to the citizens. They are delegated to the Generalitat, a democratic institution," she said from the Congressional rostrum, emphasizing that the measures introduced by the law were, above all,... This didn't stop the Sumar group from splitting during the vote: Chunta Aragonesista and Compromís voted against, also challenging the "framework" of a law that, in their opinion, unfairly singles out migrants. A point that, according to Podemos, shows that the Comuns chose the wrong side and prioritized the national axis over the anti-racist one.

Candel, Commons representative

When asked by this newspaper, sources from the Comuns leadership do not specify what they would have changed in the preamble or the text that ultimately fell through. They reiterate that the party is in favor of "more self-government and more powers for Catalonia," but also of the regularization of migrants, which Podemos has set as a condition for reopening these negotiations. "It is a mistake to contrast these two elements," point out sources from the Comuns leadership, who lament the "tacticalism" and "short-sighted political vision" in this debate. Other sources from the party point out that there has not yet been an in-depth debate that gathers proposals from the region for discussion within the leadership, regarding what arguments need to be deployed regarding immigration and coexistence in the face of the far right. Discuss with the rank and file the main axes of the political positions. It was one of the major demands at the extraordinary assembly of Comuns Last November.

However, the Comunes have begun to raise the banner of integration through language as an element of cohesion. To do so, they have turned to the classics: the figure of the writer Paco Candel, linked to the PSUC (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party), was the backbone of the party's own event for the National Day, coinciding with the centenary of his birth. Comunes' co-coordinator, Candela López, summed it up this way, glossing over the idea of "one people," transversal to Catalan nationalism: "Catalan identity is not an identity card, it is not blood or pedigree. Catalan identity is shared life, it is creating schools together, building neighborhoods, fighting to improve the living conditions of residents."

The figure of Candel connects the Comunes with an acronym, that of the PSUC (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party), of which they claim to be heirs. This also gives them a marked profile vis-à-vis Podemos. Even when they ran together, Comuns was already boasting about being the organization with a presence and bases in the region—a legacy, in turn, of ICV—ahead of Podemos, which has struggled to build a following in Catalonia over years marked by constant changes in leadership and internal disputes. The last of them was in June, when the new general coordinator of Podemos Catalunya, María Pozuelo, assumed leadership.