A Former CUP Candidate Leaves the Party After the Agreement with PSC

The CUP has initiated a pragmatic shift to try to be influential in Salvador Illa's Govern and prevent ERC and Comuns from stealing votes. One of the conclusions of the renewal process (Procés Garbí) was the lack of influence in policies in recent years. Now, to be influential, they need to approach the progressive majority that has formed around the PSC government.

The new strategy of the CUP is mainly based on the ideological polarization of Parliament, between left and right. But the national conflict continues to hover over Catalan politics. That's why the CUP's shift hasn't been well received among its base.

The latest statements from the CUP's spokesperson in Parliament, Laure Vega, have caused even more controversy. She has made it clear that they don't keep a stable relationship with the Govern, but they have opened up to more agreements as long as it's under their conditions. This has created unrest, and the first resignations following this new shift in the party.

Loss of Votes and Members

Journalist Pilar Carracelas has reacted to the CUP's statements. She said, "I won't negotiate even the color of the curtains with the executioner of my nation." Max Mansanet replied by announcing his resignation from the CUP, because "I can't take it anymore."

Màxim Mansanet, an economist and high school teacher, was number five on the lists of Santa Eulàlia de Ronçana in the last municipal elections. Now he tears up his membership card due to his disagreement with the party's new strategy.

It reflects the decline that pro-independence formations in Catalonia are experiencing after the derailment of the Procés. A credibility crisis combined with the difficulty of reorienting their strategies. The result is a massive loss of votes and members.

ERC was the major casualty of the pro-independence indignation in the Catalan elections in May of last year. Polls now show the wear and tear shifting to Junts, which also feels the breath of Aliança Catalana on its neck. The CUP fears a transfer of votes to ERC and Comuns due to agreements like the housing one.

The CUP in the New Situation

The housing agreement has opened a new situation in Catalan politics, with the definition of two blocs. The left, with the Govern, ERC, and Comuns, and the right, with Junts, PP, Vox, and Aliança Catalana. The CUP finds itself in a difficult position but has no choice but to be dragged along by the government bloc.

This accentuates the contradictions of the anti-capitalist formation, due to the discomfort caused by this PSC. It was the CUP itself that pointed to Illa's PSC as the most right-wing and Spanish nationalist in recent decades. Now they have no choice but to negotiate with them if they don't want to be isolated and continue to fade into irrelevance.

Their contribution to agreements like the housing one can hold the organization's ideological flank. But the approach to the Govern threatens to weaken their national flank. The loss of votes and members occurs mainly among the more pro-independence sectors.

Salvador Illa's gestures of "normalization" put the CUP even more against the ropes. Controversies like the delegate in Perpignan and the Spanish flag in the Casa dels Canonges make it very difficult for the pro-independence supporters to approach the PSC. Although for now, it isn't being an impediment, considering the good rapport shown by Vega and Illa in the last parliamentary session.