For days, the indeterminate "Operation Rufián" has been the subject of analysis and commentary in the media. Few things are more pleasing than speculating about indeterminate proposals. The spokesperson for Esquerra Republicana in the Congress of Deputies is demonstrating, once again, his great ability to place himself in the center of the dance and make everyone talk about him. This is not a minor skill for a left-wing politician, in these times.

Populism, as we know, is a quagmire, and for that very reason those who play in it often slip. That's what happened to Gabriel Rufián at his rally in Barcelona with Irene Montero and Xavier Domènech when he stated that he prefers “to fill TikToks than libraries”, with the argument that his son “mirrors TikTok”. Measuring public policies based on what relatives do puts us close to Rajoy and his denier cousin.In any case, Rufián's statement (which he must consider valid, as he has neither apologized nor qualified it, despite the understandable discomfort it has caused) is a mess for several reasons. The first is that it poses a false dilemma between public libraries and social networks, a choice that is not presented to anyone from the outset. On the other hand, it is true that many politicians tend to want to burden libraries, or public schools, with responsibilities they should not bear (in Palma, to mention a case right now, PP and Vox want to inspect libraries to see if they find “too many books in Catalan”).Public libraries offer a fundamental service for any society that wants to be advanced and offer equal opportunities to citizens, especially to the children of families who most certainly do not have (because they cannot) books or other means of access to culture and knowledge. They are also excellent spaces for socialization, not virtual, but in person. Their audience is usually local, but not precisely a minority, as demonstrated by the very high numbers of users and loans. Catalonia is a country with a magnificent library network and, therefore, Rufián should know all this. He should also know that what a progressive politician (any politician, but one more so than any other, and without excuse) should do is defend the public library. Not to belittle it because it does not have the audience figures of a social network with an algorithm designed to create addictive behaviors among its users.Perhaps the greatest paradox is that public libraries are one of the most important tools a society has in the fight against fascism, which is what Rufián says he cares about. Public libraries are essential for building critical thinking and more cultured societies, and more cultured means better informed: on the other hand, what is promoted from TikTok and other large social networks is precisely disinformation, or information poisoning. Rufián, I have said it before, is right when he warns that Spanish politics (and this directly affects Catalan politics) is once again clearly confrontational. But it is not clear that the way to stop the anti-democratic front is to play within its field, with its rules and its tools. More libraries, better funded and equipped, and greater recognition and prestige for the people who work there would surely help us more than a thousand viral videos of people challenging each other to idiotic stunts.

1. In February, the Goya Awards for Spanish cinema were presented in Barcelona. In March, Cornellà hosted a Spain-Egypt football match that went around the world because of the massive chant of “Muslim, he who doesn't jump”. In April, on the eve of Sant Jordi, AENA invents a literary prize for published works with one million euros for the winner. Maurici Lucena's intention is to re-stitch Ibero-American literature through a literary air bridge, a prize that excludes novels written in Catalan, Basque, or Galician if they are not translated into Spanish. Shall we continue? What are they preparing for May? The agenda for the Hispanization of Catalonia seems set and strategically prepared. It is, almost, a post-war plan, made with more subtlety and elegance because with culture and leisure, everything goes down better. After severing the Procés, after beheading its leaders, and once they have the troops demoralized, enraged, or resigned, the plan to dilute residual independentism is systematic.

Gabriel Rufián and Irene Montero defended on Thursday from Barcelona a left-wing front for the upcoming general elections. The Republican spokesperson in Madrid was faithful to his most direct and, in some cases, provocative style. Rufián filled the auditorium of the Pompeu Fabra University with slogans to support his strategy to combat the far-right. These are some of those that summarize his speech:

What should be the unitary left-wing front proposed by Gabriel Rufián? Aware that his party, ERC, does not subscribe to the proposal, the republican spokesperson made an explicit request to him this Thursday: "I ask my party to lead this. And if it costs me my position, I'll go home." Rufián wants Oriol Junqueras' party to adopt the proposal and unite, under its banner, this confluence in Catalonia. And in the State? The republican spokesperson in Madrid has argued that Podemos should play this role: "Podemos can help these confluences." The second stop on his tour of the State has taken him to Barcelona, to the auditorium of the Campus de la Ciutadella at Pompeu Fabra University, alongside Irene Montero, Podemos's number two, who has taken up the proposal's gauntlet.

New mass resignation at ERC. After the cases of Girona and Barcelona, where the resignation of more than half of the executives forced the appointment of a caretaker committee, now comes that of Igualada. In this case, all members of the leadership have decided to step down in response to the recent internal vote, which rejected the Rufián path (coalition with Comuns and CUP) that the resigning members had advocated for the upcoming municipal elections. And, as in the Girona and Barcelona cases, they leave with direct criticism of the party's national executive, chaired by Oriol Junqueras.

New mass resignation in ERC. After the cases in Girona and Barcelona, where the resignation of more than half of the executives forced a caretaker committee to be put in charge, now comes that of Igualada. In this case, all members of the leadership have decided to resign in response to the recent internal vote, which rejected the Rufián path (coalition with Comuns and CUP) which the resigning members had bet on for the upcoming municipal elections. And, as in the cases of Girona and Barcelona, they leave with direct criticism of the party's national executive, chaired by Oriol Junqueras.

Gabriel Rufián's tour to defend his proposal for a broad front of the left makes its second stop in Barcelona this Thursday. The ERC spokesperson in Congress will sit down with Podemos's number two, Irene Montero, after a few weeks ago, in Madrid, his interlocutor was the spokesperson for Més Madrid, Emilio Delgado. In the front row, he knows that the president of Esquerra, Oriol Junqueras, will not be there – he has justified his absence due to "agenda matters" – but a small representation of the party's executive will be: the deputy secretary-general, Oriol López, and the deputy secretary, Laura Pelay.

In the survey by the Sociological Research Centre (CIS) last June, Gabriel Rufián first appeared as one of the names Spaniards considered as a candidate for the presidency of the State. The percentage was very low, 0.6%, but what was significant was that a leader of ERC, specifically the party's spokesperson in Congress, appeared in the predictions. The Rufián phenomenon has been growing over the months – in this March's survey the percentage had grown to 5.8% –, spurred on by his campaign for a left-wing front. All the sovereignist left-wing parties, starting with his own, ERC, turned their backs on him and the feeling was that Rufián was rowing against the current, even though he never tires of saying that what he defends is what he hears on the street and what the left has always been criticized for: lack of unity. And especially at a time of rising right and far-right. Sumar welcomed Rufián's proposal, but invited him to join the coalition that was already negotiating with Esquerra Unida, Comuns, and Més Madrid. A project in which Podemos, incidentally, is not involved. It is precisely for this reason that the person who has taken up Rufián's challenge is Irene Montero, the number two of the purple party.

Oriol Junqueras has spent weeks actively and passively rejecting the project of left-wing unity that ERC spokesperson in Madrid, Gabriel Rufián, is trying to promote at the state level. The republican leader, however, went a step further this Monday with a more than clarifying sentence about his position: "I went to prison for Catalonia, not because Colau is a deputy on an Esquerra list," he summarized in the context of the presentation of the book by deputy Francesc-Marc Álvaro. A statement for which the former mayor of Barcelona has accused him of doing mansplaining.

On the war: the United States and Israel have neither overthrown the ayatollahs' regime, nor do they control the Strait of Hormuz, nor is Trump advancing peace talks as he wants us to believe with this daily obsession of talking, talking, and talking.Trump wants to claim victory and cannot, he wants to announce peace and bombs and missiles continue to be heard, and Tehran says they are not negotiating anything, the war is harming the lives of people and businesses all over the world, and it is sending us into an energy crisis that could strangle us all. The dictatorship of the Iranian clergy has understood that Trump is in a hurry to finish, and logically they are not; the regime is already very damaged, and now they want the whole world to blame Trump for the general impoverishment.In this regard, I recommend again theanalysis by our Head of International, Francesc Millán, on what might happen now. Because Trump said the war would last 4 weeks. It will be 4 weeks the day after tomorrow, Saturday. What should we do: insist on the diplomatic path or escalate the war, with nuclear weapons if necessary?In this scenario, today the anti-crisis decree is being voted on in Congress. It will be approved because Junts has already said they will support it because the PSOE will support what we explained yesterday about the zero VAT reduction for self-employed workers earning less than 85,000 euros per year. The vote and debate will be today, but yesterday Esquerra and Junts already debated another issue that will be voted on in a month, which is the decree extending rental contracts. And Rufián went all out against Junts: "Who do they work for? For whom? If they overthrow this decree, I wish them years of political ostracism. And I promise you that while I am here, I will strive very hard for that to be the case. Very. Because they do terrible harm to people, to this country, and to my country. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes..."

Gabriel Rufián and Irene Montero have been summoned on April 9th in Barcelona to hold a joint event, moderated by Xavier Domènech, which will serve to defend a left-wing front for the upcoming general elections. They will finally do so at Pompeu Fabra University, organizers announced this Wednesday. It will be the second stop on the ERC spokesperson's tour in Madrid, which aims to convince citizens and parties that the best way to combat the far-right is through electoral unity of the left.

Gabriel Rufián and Irene Montero have metApril 9th ​​in Barcelona to hold a joint eventThe event, moderated by Xavier Domènech, will serve to advocate for a left-wing front in the lead-up to the next general elections. It will finally take place at Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), organizers announced on Wednesday. This will be the second stop on the tour of the ERC spokesperson in Madrid, who aims to convince the public and political parties that the best way to combat the far right is through electoral unity on the left.

There is no session in the Congress of Deputies that does not involve a clash between Junts and Esquerra. The same leader of the Republicans, Gabriel Rufián, admitted this Wednesday while intervening in the appearance of the Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez, on the war in Iran. From the lectern, Rufián said the following: "Some Catalan journalists are already writing the chronicle of Rufián attacks Junts, well yes. I don't care because fortunately people have other means of communication to know what is happening here, Junts lies and there are less than 30 days to tell people about it," he sentenced, alluding to the Junts' opposition to validating the decree that extends the Spanish government's rental contracts and which must be voted on in the Congress of Deputies within a month at the latest. "Who do you work for? Don't you have any voters whose rental contract is ending? Why such a self-harming vote? Do you have a real estate company?" he asked the Junts bench. "If you overturn this decree, I wish you years of political ostracism and I promise you I will try very hard for it to be so. You do terrible harm to the people of this country," he concluded.

There isn't a session in the Congress of Deputies that doesn't involve a clash between Junts and Esquerra. The leader of the Republicans, Gabriel Rufián, himself admitted this on Wednesday while speaking during the appearance of the Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez, regarding the war in Iran. From the podium, Rufián said the following: "Some Catalan journalists are already writing the story 'Rufián attacks Junts,' well, yes. I don't care because, fortunately, people have other means of communication to find out what's happening here. Junts is lying, and there are just under 30 days left to tell people," he declared, alluding to Junts' opposition to ratifying the decree extending rental contracts issued by the Spanish government, which must be voted on in the Congress of Deputies within a month at the latest. "Who do you work for? Don't you have any voters whose rental contracts are about to expire? Why this self-destructive vote? Do you own a real estate company?" he asked the Junts party members. "If you overturn this decree, I wish you years of political ostracism, and I promise I will work very hard to make sure it happens. You are doing a terrible disservice to the people of this country," he concluded.

Gabriel Rufián and Irene Montero have met April 9th ​​to hold a joint eventThe event, moderated by Xavier Domènech, aims to promote a united left-wing front in the lead-up to the next general elections. So far, the exact location has not been made public; organizers had only stated it would be in Barcelona. According to ARA, it will definitely not be held at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), despite the organizers' initial wish. The UAB has rejected the request. The reason? The university does not lend its spaces for events that are not "academic," according to sources at the institution. Organizers are now exploring alternative venues and expect to announce the final location in the coming days.

"Teaming up with Gabriel [Rufián] seems like a great idea to me," Irene Montero said a few days ago, in a significant change of attitude. In Sumar, Montero's most hated enemy, Yolanda Díaz, has withdrawn from the front lines, making it clear that she will finish her current term as Vice President of the Spanish government, but will no longer run as a Sumar candidate. It was also a few days ago that Yolanda Díaz made clear her willingness to consider the possibility of uniting (or subsuming) Sumar into a broader project of the left—to the left of the PSOE—to run in the general elections, as proposed by the ERC spokesperson in Congress, the aforementioned Gabriel Rufián, now the white mermaid ( white blackbird(You'll have to excuse me) of the left, of what Salvador Espriu called the bull's hide. That is to say: Catalan, Galician, Basque, and Spanish leftists, pro-independence and pro-union leftists, united to stop the shift to the right and the far right. This was largely the subject of some of Espriu's major works, such as the play Esther's First Story or the poems of The bull's hideWe are in the vicinity of Iberianism, the idea of ​​an Iberian Peninsula formed by a set of cultures and languages ​​(Portuguese, Castilian, Basque, Galician, and Catalan, which includes Catalonia, the Valencian Community, and the Balearic Islands) that should coexist in peace, respect, and mutual understanding. This is an idea that Espriu took up from Joan Maragall and that has been defended by other intellectuals: more recently, the Portuguese José Saramago and the Asturian Xuan Bello.

It has been a turbulent week for the left of the PSOE. It started with the hangover with a resounding kick in the elections in Castile and León and it has ended with the Sumar ministers challenging Pedro Sánchez to include measures in housing in the social shield against war. In the midst of it all, the emergence of the Irene Montero - Gabriel Rufián tandem has shaken things up. The event they will share in Barcelona In twenty days, he has brought Podemos back into the equation, pulling it out of the isolation it had been mired in for some time. Those close to the ERC spokesperson in Congress describe it as "just one event and nothing more," but Podemos members hint that it could crystallize into a future electoral alliance. "I can't think of a better team; they have a path I hope they can follow," declared Podemos' general secretary, Ione Belarra. And Irene Montero herself publicly acknowledged that an electoral partnership with Rufián is a "very good idea" and, contrary to what those close to the Republican maintain, confessed that events like this are held "not only for the general elections, but also for the general elections."

"A party that has had Francesc Macià, Lluís Companys, Josep Irla, Josep Tarradellas, and Pere Aragonès is above all else." The president of ERC, Oriol Junqueras, asserted this Friday the importance of his party, above any specific dispute, including regarding the candidates. "We are not afraid of anything," he responded in an interview with Ser Catalunya when asked if he feared that Gabriel Rufián might leave ERC in search of a national left-wing front. "ERC goes far beyond all of that," he insisted, adding that "if we weren't afraid of prison, how can we be afraid of anything else, much less this?"

After the blow to the left in the Castille and Leo elections, where Podem and Sumar were left out of the regional chamber, ERC spokesperson, Gabriel Rufián, stated: "Seats to the left of the PSOE. Doing nothing (or the same old thing) is pure negligence." Given the proliferation of regional governments with a PP and Vox majority and the more than possible alliance of these two forces in the next general elections, the Esquerra leader does not tire of demanding a united left-wing front in Spain.