The left that wants to leave NATO and is not afraid of a Putin invasion

BarcelonaThe position of the Spanish parties to the left of the PSOE on European rearmament is, theoretically, the same: Sumar and Podemos reject it and, furthermore, support Spain's withdrawal from NATO. However, rather than closing ranks, Podemos is attacking its former partner in order to avoid exerting sufficient pressure within the Cabinet for Spain to disengage from the European Commission's plans. to mobilize 800 billion euros in defense and the Atlantic Alliance's mandate to achieve 2% of GDP spending on security. Sumar balances and speaks sideways as one of the coalition partners, United Left, raises its head to challenge the anti-militarist banner in the face of voices that consider Yolanda Díaz's party to be too soft. This already happened in the crisis that opened within the executive branch over the Interior Ministry's contract for the purchase of ammunition from Israel, and which Moncloa ordered the cancellation as quickly as possible after the United Left sounded the alarm. Now, the party has launched its own security roadmap to prevent the war in Ukraine from acting as a Trojan horse for what they see as the United States' agenda. And it's also doing so from Barcelona.

The federal coordinator of the United Left, Antonio Maíllo, was in the Catalan capital on Monday to meet with the Delàs Center, which has been a key player in recent days. for his analysis of arms sales contracts between Spain and Israel. He did so to present a party document that aims to open a debate among the left and civil society on an "alternative peace system" that turns its back on the "rearmament fever" and puts the withdrawal from NATO back on the table (and a critical view of its expansion to the east, along the Russian borders). Spain's withdrawal from NATO is currently a very hypothetical milestone: it would have to be endorsed by a majority in the Congress of Deputies, at the initiative of the Spanish government. And neither the PSOE nor the PP are in that boat.

Reactivate the Not in war

For the moment, and unlike Podemos, Izquierda Unida is reaching out to both Sumar and the PSOE and inviting them to reconsider what they consider an arms race that, they maintain, will lead to cuts in social spending. The party considers it key to take advantage of the context to reactivate the anti-war movements of the Not in war (as is happening, for example, in Italy) and increasing support for a new security model in Europe. This is what Esquerra Unida cadres advocated this Wednesday at a new event in Barcelona, ​​also with the Delàs Center. "When we were founded in 1986, it was with the fight against NATO in mind," recalled Xavi Garcia, of the EUCat peace activist network. Former MEP Manu Pineda, head of International for United Left, questioned the direction of the Atlantic Alliance and its harmony with Zelensky's government in Ukraine: "Putin is not Lenin. But NATO is NATO [...]. And someone believes that Putin has an interest in .

In fact, the United Left document defines NATO as "one of the most dangerous organizations in humanity", supports diplomatic channels in Ukraine and calls for "the disarmament and demilitarization" of the European Union. Pineda explained that in 2019, during the negotiations for the European Parliament candidacy, Esquerra Unida was the only party that advocated leaving the organization, because neither the Comuns nor Podemos wanted to include it in the program.

Pinza Podemos-United Left?

Given these movements, is an anti-militarist clampdown between Podemos and United Left emerging to pressure Sumar? Ione Belarra's party, which cools the possibility of repeating elections with Sumar, he points out. Sources from the purple party consider it a "contradiction" that the United Left has this discourse and, at the same time, is part of a government that will fulfill its commitments to NATO point by point. "It's hypocritical," point out sources from the party, who assert that there are members of Maíllo's party who share Podemos's position in this debate and not Sumar's. "Sumar has no discourse," laments a Podemos leader in the ARA.

Yolanda Díaz's party is defending itself and believes it has made its position clear in the debates in Congress, where it voted on a BNG motion calling for withdrawal from NATO and expressing its rejection of increased military spending: "We have spoken very clearly," he says. In any case, Maíllo will return to Barcelona on May 24th to attend a party event at the CCOO headquarters, and will once again make a statement regarding Yolanda Díaz's party.