ERC Also Splits in Tarragona and Reus

The Internal War in ERC Extends. The battle that Oriol Junqueras won to take over the leadership of the party remains an open wound. We saw it at the congress held last weekend and it is becoming evident in the tensions that are emerging in, precisely, two of the main local strongholds of the Republicans: Tarragona and Reus.

The case of Reus is particularly serious. It is because there, according to E-Notícies, the battle is not between two sectors fighting for power. It is, directly, from a part of the grassroots that are rebelling against the current leadership headed by Noemí Llauradó.

Activists of Esquerra in Reus are already exploring alternatives to lead the party in the locality. The goal is to force the resignation of Noemí Llauradó, who is currently the president of the Diputació de Tarragona and deputy mayor in Reus after two pacts with the PSC. This critical sector of ERC in the capital of Baix Camp believes that their leader should step aside.

They basically remind her that her failures as a candidate in the municipal elections must have consequences. Llauradó was the head of the Republicans in 2015, 2019, and 2023. Although she has been part of the local government in the last three terms, she never managed to take over the mayoralty of Reus.

However, the list of reproaches from the grassroots to Llauradó is long. For example, she even offered a pact to the PP after the last elections to try to take over the mayoralty, something that angered a part of the grassroots. They also didn't like the fact that she kept changing internal sectors as it suited her to maintain her position (she went from being a Junquerista to a Rovira supporter to end up staying neutral).

The situation is so delicate that not even the party leadership closes the door to a change in the local presidency. In fact, in this scenario, some voices from Noemí Llauradó's environment have recommended that she, at the very least, leave the local government.

The objective would be to oppose Mayor Sandra Guaita (PSC) to establish her own profile. But for now, she is not considering it. That is because, with this move, her position as president of the Diputació de Tarragona would be at risk. Both in Reus and in the supramunicipal institution, they have a pact with the Socialists.

In any case, the pressure on Llauradó is starting to be significant. Just, moreover, when she is in the middle of a controversy over the announcement she made about the construction of an auditorium in Reus. As president of the Diputació, she made this announcement without consulting the mayor, generating a significant wave of criticism.

Tarragona, the Other War That Erupts in ERC

The situation in Tarragona is not precisely better. There, two opposing sectors have already acknowledged that they will have to face off in primaries.

On one side, we have Xavi Puig, who in ERC's internal war supported Foc Nou of Alfred Bosch. To almost everyone's surprise, the current city councilor announced his intention to lead the Republican candidacy in the next municipal elections. However, he will have to earn that position against Saül Garreta, former president of the Port of Tarragona and Oriol Junqueras's man in the city.

From the official sector led by Garreta, they admit that there are "frictions" and "some tension" between the two sides. In fact, public reproaches between these two sectors have already begun, and there are still more than two years to go before the municipal elections. Everything points, then, that the war in the capital of Tarragona to take over the party's leadership will be quite entertaining.

It is not easy for them in Tarragona. Pau Ricomà took over the mayoralty in 2019 but failed spectacularly in 2023 and decided to go home after losing 31% of the votes obtained four years earlier. Despite having 6 councilors, the reality of ERC in the city is so complicated that even the party leadership is considering running under a different name.