What is Democracy 21 and why has Citizens involved itself in it?

MadridFor over a year, lawyer Miriam González had been flirting with the possibility of taking the step into politics. Dedicated to promoting initiatives from civil society such as España Mejor, with the aim of influencing public policies based on democratic regeneration, she has finally decided to run in the November 29 elections with a new political party: Democràcia 21. The group, which was presented last Saturday in Madrid, aims to make a breakthrough in the upcoming elections as a centrist option, despite the fact that they were expecting general elections next year and not immediately. At the same time, parties like Citizens have become involved in the form of a coalition with the hope of reviving the reformist space. Be that as it may, how does Miriam González plan to stand out in a context of maximum polarization between the right and the left?

González stresses in a conversation with ARA that it was "better to take the plunge," even though they did not foresee the early election. "The calling of early elections has meant that instead of more provinces, as we wanted, we have concentrated our efforts on Barcelona and Madrid, as a rational decision," she asserts. In her view, "there are a lot of people who do not feel represented by anything, who have stopped trusting the PSOE after its paralysis and the cases of corruption, but they are also not willing to give their vote to a PP that waits for votes to fall into its lap due to the opponent's mistakes, without inspiring ideas and with a party that has not renewed itself after the corruption, in addition to the doubts raised by making an agreement with Vox." The Spanish lawyer maintains that "the message is that there is an alternative": "We are the majority of the country, there are many of us. People want different things and are fed up with so much polarization," she insists.

The political leader considers that this "situation of hyper-polarization penalizes the country," and states that, faced with problems, Democracy 21 has "the philosophy of 'I'll fix it'," instead of seeking confrontation. "Generating consensus in politics is fundamental," she points out. And proof of this is that she went to the housing encampment at Puerta del Sol "to listen and understand" and was received "with respect." And she reasons that some will wonder "how is it possible for someone who is not from the extreme left to go there." She says, however, that it is necessary to build bridges and solve problems.

In any case, a question that lingers, with the reappearance in these state elections, is why she has allied with Citizens in the form of a coalition, even though the brand is Democracy 21? "Since the beginning with civil society, not just Citizens, but many parties have worked for a political alternative," although "it is not the same context as ten years ago." "What was left of Citizens and other small parties" have worked on it, and she claims that "it is necessary to unite to push for an agenda that leads to consensus." However, González is not looking for "political recycling," even though "there are people with a desire for change and a different way of governing."

A Citizens (Ciutadans) different from Albert Rivera's, whom she has criticized for reproducing the same vices of the system. In fact, González's party is not to the liking of the former Catalan politician, who said on Antena 3 this week that "one must concentrate the vote" and avoid it "going into the trash." "I respect that parties are being founded, but one thing is for parties to be founded and another thing is for us to gamble with the lottery drum; now is the time for the vote to be super-secure and useful and for there to be change," he defended.

Sources from Citizens (Ciutadans) stress to ARA that "since the last assembly," with the new leadership headed by Carlos Pérez-Nievas, they have been working to "rebuild the center space" and that Miriam González "fits perfectly with the ideological spectrum" like the agreement with other minority parties such as UCIN. According to these sources, "it is an interesting movement, it has a very great potential and it is the same ideological space with exciting ideas." Now in the process of collecting endorsements, Citizens (Ciutadans) is working very hard, together with the other parties, to gather the more than 10,000 adhesions necessary to reach 0.1% of the census and be able to run.

González's reasons

The diagnosis made by González is that "for decades there has been talk of two Spains, but both Spains end up doing exactly the same thing, filling the administrations with their own" and perpetuating vices that she believes must be left behind. Despite the adverse context, she sees everything as "fluid" and announces that "every vote for Democracy 21 will go towards ensuring the democratic system with cleanliness and common sense". She claims to be "the change of the times" and intends for the support of young people to be an important lever for her movement, in the face of which criticisms have rained down "especially from the extremes".