Will the fight against Junqueras remain in Barcelona?
In most territorial congresses, candidates have been agreed upon or critics have not mobilized.
BarcelonaAgainst all odds, Barcelona became a week ago the territory in which The critics won the battle against JunquerismCruz Camacho defeated Eva Baró by 14 votes and is now the president of the federation in the Catalan capital. It was the first setback for the leadership led by Oriol Junqueras since December. Barcelona and Vallès Oriental have so far been the only territories where two candidates, one of them critical of the current national leadership, have contested the regional primaries. Unlike Barcelona, however, in Vallès, the Junquera candidate, Mayte Escobar, won, ahead of the list of Pep Mur and Marta Vilaret. Could these battles be replicated in the rest of the regional assemblies? For now, there are few movements in the region that suggest this trend will reach the rest of the regional congresses, because either the critics have not mobilized, or a consensus has been reached to create a list with different sensibilities.
One of the threats facing the national leadership once it secured victory was that the critics who had challenged Oriol Junqueras in the fall primaries would organize themselves locally to try to act as a territorial counterpower. In fact, this was a scenario anticipated by the voices of the two candidates who faced the current Republican president, Nova Esquerra Nacional and Foc Nou. However, as the weeks passed, a kind of disenchantment has set in among the critics. This was evident in the second part of the national congress, when the party debated the political and organizational reports in the plenary session on March 15 and 16. Nueva Izquierda Nacional and Foc Nou presented amendments and reached a majority compromise with the leadership, but Xavier Godàs's candidacy ended with the withdrawal of the most controversial changes, which involved limiting Oriol Junqueras's term.
However, the demobilization of critics reflected in the March assembly is behind us in the Vallès Oriental region and also in Barcelona, when they forged a last-minute candidacy to challenge Eva Baró. Now Creu Camacho has to decide whether to integrate representatives of the ruling party list into its leadership—an option provided for in the statutes if the winning list does not reach 55% of the vote. For the moment, the new leadership of the federation has not made a decision, but sources consulted indicate that they are open to exploring this possibility. Whether or not they integrate will provide clues about the relationship they want to have with Junquerismo.
From Girona to Central Catalonia: the assemblies in the region
The narrow victory of the critics in Barcelona provided a boost of optimism, and several sources in this sector suggested that this had led them to consider repeating their candidacies in other regional congresses. However, no other congresses have been finalized so far. This did not happen at the first two congresses held: in Baix Llobregat, a single candidate close to Oriol Junqueras was presented, and Eduard Suárez was reelected president; while in Girona, a list was agreed upon between Junqueras supporters and activists who had supported the New National Left, such as Pau Presas and Laia Cañigueral, who were reelected to lead the Girona federation. The congress was held in Tarragona this week, and the situation was similar to that in Girona: Noemí Llauradó is the new president of the federation on a consensus list that brings together diverse sensibilities. In Lleida, the current president of the federation, Carles Comes (a Junqueras supporter), plans to run again, and so far, there's no movement to challenge him.
The Central Catalonia regional government is where the New National Left had the greatest presence, but during the debates on the amendments to the proposals, they also failed to make it past the filter. According to various sources consulted, a candidacy is being worked on with activists close to Oriol Junqueras and people in the orbit of the critics. However, it's still unknown whether there will be an alternative list. In the Penedès regional government, no one rules out the possibility of two lists competing, although in this case the dispute would be more about territorial balances between regions. However, according to sources in this region, no one has yet taken the step of running for office at a congress that has not yet been convened.
In Baix Llobregat, Terres de l'Ebre, and the Baix Besòs regional government will hold their congresses on May 6 and 8, respectively. These are regions where Junqueras enjoys broad grassroots support, but in the Ebro region, no one is ruling out two candidacies. The Maresme congress, Xavier Godàs's region, will be held on May 24, where negotiations for a consensus candidacy are also being finalized. Also pending is the Vallès Occidental regional government, where, to begin with, the critics are not expected to put up a fight. Junqueras will therefore close the regional congresses with greater internal peace than he began when he was reelected to head the national leadership. Barcelona could become the critics' only bastion.
