Crisis in the CUP: Laia Estrada resigns as a member of Parliament due to "political disagreements"

BarcelonaCUP MP Laia Estrada is leaving her seat in Parliament. This is what she announced. Vilaweb And the party has confirmed this in a statement, which comes after the CUP leader conveyed this decision to the party's national committee held this Tuesday. Estrada herself has justified her resignation due to the "political disagreements" she has with the party, which has sought to open a new phase following a refounding process following the poor electoral results, with an eye on the 2027 municipal elections. The replacement will take effect in September, and the next on the list is the former. In any case, the departure of Estrada – who headed the list in the last Catalan elections – opens a crisis within the political space.

"It has been an honor and a privilege to represent the CUP. Now it is time to continue fighting as always, as a member of the Independent Left, for socialism, feminism and the independence of the Països Catalans," Estrada said in a message to X. The party, for its part, thanked her for the work done so far, which it describes as ". Before becoming a deputy, she was a councilor in Tarragona, between 2015 and 2021. "The political line and the work done is an example to follow," says the CUP in the statement in which, in addition, they express respect for Estrada's decision to step aside.

The background to the primaries

The division within the CUP over its leadership is not new. Estrada was the top candidate in the Catalan elections after a primaries that she contested with fellow congresswoman Laure Vega, which represents the most reformist sector and advocates giving more weight to the social agenda within the party's roadmap. Both are members of Endavant (OSAN), a left-wing pro-independence party that is part of the CUP (Cup), which prompted Poble Lliure to demand more weight on the lists. However, Vega bid farewell to Estrada, thanking him for his work.

Following the refounding process, the CUP opted to focus more on the debate over the economic model and champion an independence movement that would reach the "social majority," placing language and housing at the center. He accompanied it with a renewal of his image. On the other hand, the party's general secretary, Non Casadevall, opened the door for the first time to agree with the PSC on specific issues, as ended up happening with the housing decree who also voted for ERC and Comuns.

The counterpart was that the Department of Territory agreed to regulate seasonal rentals—a regulation that is still being processed in Parliament—, protect the stock of socially protected apartments, and create a corps of inspectors to oversee compliance with the housing law. Vega defended this pact in an interview with ACN: "We are willing to talk. We have some proposals. We don't impose a program, but we also don't play political games with things that we don't believe will provide real solutions," she argued. Vega, from Sant Boi de Llobregat, is a well-regarded negotiator within the Socialist ranks. Some Socialist leaders have even praised her conciliatory nature compared to Estrada's, whom they consider much tougher and more inflexible.

In the statement, the CUP avoids clarifying what led Estrada to leave office, but reiterates its commitment to the party's roadmap, which, it emphasizes, continues to champion a "democratic rupture" to achieve a "socialist, ecological, and feminist" republic in the Catalan Countries. "From the National Secretariat, we continue working, with the entire organization, to deploy the political proposal that will lead to the total freedom of the PPCC, and become an even more useful tool for improving the conditions of the Catalan working people," they conclude.