Barcelona en Comú faces the municipal elections of 2027 with the challenge of presenting, for the first time, a candidate other than Ada Colau. Gerardo Pisarello, a deputy in Congress and former first deputy mayor, has taken on this role, after winning the primaries against comedian Bob Pop. But, even before choosing a mayoral candidate, the party's new executive began to outline a strategy to improve the results predicted by polls and present themselves to Barcelonians as an alternative to the PSC. According to sources from the leadership, conveyed to el ARA, this strategy involves regaining presence in the Besòs Axis neighborhoods, where they believe they have room to grow and prevent a vote drain towards the far-right.

When he was five years old, little Gerardo saw hooded men enter his room and take his father away in his underwear and without his glasses. It was the last time he saw him. His mother told him he had died of a heart attack. He believed her. A compelling self-deception. Until, at 23, he found the document certifying that he had suffered "various traumas." That lawyer and politician had been tortured and murdered by the Argentine dictatorship. This happened in San Miguel de Tucumán on June 24, 1976, one day after another grandchild was born to that father-grandfather. Skinny Pisarello had dared to defend political prisoners after General Videla's coup d'état three months earlier, on March 24th of that year. Now, half a century has passed since that infamy.

Gerardo Pisarello begins his roadmap as mayor of Barcelona En Comú for 2027. After winning the primaries against Bob Pop, The now-Member of Parliament has announced that he will open a round of talks with left-wing forces in the city, including the PSC (Socialist Party of Catalonia), to try to build a "broad front" for the 2027 elections. At a press conference this Monday, he admitted that it is unlikely this understanding will materialize into a single electoral candidacy, but nevertheless, he expressed his support for exploring all options. He also intends to open conversations with social movements in the city. Once he has listened to them, he will make a proposal for a possible agreement for the municipal elections to "win a Barcelona for the social majority," at a time when the electoral cycle points to a rise for the right.

Barcelona en Comú has chosen its successor to Ada Colau for the 2027 elections. Member of Parliament Gerardo Pisarello defeated comedian and writer Bob Pop in the party's first primary and will be the candidate for the next municipal elections. Pisarello received 68.6% of the vote, while Bob Pop, who shook up BComú by unexpectedly stepping forward, convinced 27% of registered members who voted. A total of 9,000 people were eligible to participate in the process, and 1,525 cast ballots. There were 4.4% blank votes. The former deputy mayor in Colau's administration has teamed up with councilor Carol Recio, who will be number two on his list.

Gerardo Pisarello (Tucumán, 1970) He is running in the Barcelona En Comú primaries to replace Ada Colau as mayoral candidate in 2027. He is currently a member of Congress and hopes to defeat his rival. Bob PopHe was the former mayor's right-hand man at City Hall between 2015 and 2019.

In his office at the Congress, Gerard Pisarello keeps three objects: a photograph of Frederica Montseny, an anarchist minister of the Second Republic; a portrait of Pi i Margall, Catalan president of the First Republic; and a Barcelona flag. These three symbols represent the values ​​with which the now-Congressman and former right-hand man of Ada Colau in the City Council identifies: grassroots left-wing movements, republicanism, and municipalism. The former deputy mayor of Barcelona is now taking the step to become a candidate for Barcelona en Comú in 2027 after several voices from space asked him to, when no one could yet foresee that they would end up testing each other's strength in a primary election with the writer and comedian Bob Pop. At the official launch of the candidacyOrganized hastily when the party realized it would have to fight for the mayoral nomination, Pisarello appeared flanked by Colau and Ernest Urtasun. A message that made it clear he is the official candidate of the party leadership.

The spotlights come on and Bob Pop takes the stage at the Barceloneta Civic Center, in front of about a hundred people who have come to hear why he wants to be mayor of Barcelona. The writer and comedian introduces himself: he wants to win the mayoral office of the Catalan capital, and that's "neither a joke nor a prank." Behind him, on a screen, his campaign poster from the Barcelona En Comú primaries is projected: "Bob Pop for mayor of Barcelona. Why not?" But, immediately afterward, the screen displays a photo from the official launch of his rival Gerardo Pisarello's candidacy. surrounded by the heavyweights of Comuns, from Ada Colau to the Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun“There are no ministers today, they won’t be coming. There’s no fairy godmother either. This coronation is rubbish compared to the official candidate’s, but at least you all are here,” Bob Pop says in the auditorium. And he adds, looking at the photo of Pisarello with the top figures of Comuns and other members of the party: “People’s faces aren’t exactly beaming with enthusiasm either.”

With chants of "Pisarello, Pisarello": that's how the Barcelona en Comú supporters greeted the current member of Congress on the day he presented his candidacy for mayor of Barcelona in 2027. Gerardo Pisarello Prados (Tucumán, Argentina, 1970) officially announced his intention this Saturday to run for mayor of Barcelona, joining the Sumar coalition, which includes Ernest Urtasun and former mayor Ada Colau, who arrived late to the event. "[Jaume] Collboni has not lived up to the needs of the people. He has been complacent with the powerful and lacked courage," he declared at the start of the presentation at the Ca l'Isidret community center in the Sant Martí neighborhood, despite the fact that the PSC (Socialist Party of Catalonia) won the mayoralty thanks to the Comuns and the PP (People's Party), to the detriment of Xavier Collboni. Pisarello has sought to emulate New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, of Muslim origin, who has stood up to Donald Trump, to define his project for 2027. "I want to be the first mayor of Barcelona of migrant origin, proudly Catalan, proudly Catalan, like Roig, Maria Mercè Marçal, and the young Lamin Yamal," he declared, amidst applause from the audience. "It won't be handed to us, but it's possible if we organize ourselves, persevere in the struggle, and build community," he stated. His idea is to achieve this by forging "broad fronts" of the left—though he didn't clarify whether he meant other parties or civil society—to stop the right and the far right. "We don't just want broad defensive fronts against fascism, but also a program of real transformations for the people. Without a courageous program, there is disillusionment with democracy, which is what fuels the far right," he said.

Barcelona en Comú's casting call for a successor to Ada Colau is underway, and one name is a clear contender: Gerardo Pisarello, the Comunes deputy in Congress. According to several sources consulted by ARA, the former first secretary of the Congress's board is one of the best-positioned candidates to challenge Jaume Collboni for the Barcelona mayoralty, where he was a councilor between 2015 and 2019. All this, while some sectors of the party's grassroots are already calling for a name to be chosen after the party's congress. ten years after his birth. In response to this newspaper's questions, official sources from Barcelona en Comú rule out jumping the gun on who should lead the candidacy and assure that the process to select the ticket to lead it will not open until the end of the year. The primaries are scheduled for January.