Carles Puigdemont, the escaped former Catalan president, He is determined to show himself as the independentist with the greatest pedigree and the only one who is committed to the unity of this increasingly fragmented movement. When he announced his candidacy, he addressed Esquerra Republicana to ask them, again, for a single list. Those at ERC dispatched the incident with cold boxes and immediately. The experience of Junts pel Sí was enough for those of Oriol Junqueras and Pere Aragonès. He did not even address the CUP, because the anti-capitalists never wanted to formalize an alliance with the Catalan bourgeoisie that ends up in Junts, and in recent days two pro-independence candidacies have appeared that have in common eroding the electorate of former president Puigdemont. The Catalan Aliança of the far-right Silvia Orriols and Alhora, of Clara Ponsatíwho is still a Junts MEP.
Unapproachable by discouragement, the candidate who will return only if he is elected president appeared in the middle of Easter in Perpignan (France) to present a coalition of pro-independence parties that will unite around him. Carles Puigdemont has united up to seven parties in a coalition that is absolutely “fake”, because either they are parties that are already in the orbit of Junts per Catalunya or they are purely testimonial.
And everything, with him as the protagonist, including the name of this alliance, which has been baptized as «Together + Puigdemont for Catalonia». Thus, it positions itself as the only one capable of confronting “Spanish aggression” with a new “country list” that, as it explains, “incorporates profiles and support from different sectors.” Although they are not that different. These are the forces that have joined Puigdemont's new challenge and rejected by Esquerra in that battle to lead the separatist movement:
Moviment d'Esquerres de Catalunya-MES
It was one of the first splits of the PSC and was initially led by Ernest Maragall, until he left the group in 2018. In 2015 they appeared within Junts pel Sí and in 2017, with ERC, to appear in the 2021 elections with Junts per Catalunya, causing the departure of more than 40 militants who came from the PSC. The former mayor of Sant Feliu de Guíxols Pere Albó was elected deputy.
Democrats
This split from Unió Democràtica with strong xenophobic overtones, led by Antoni Castellà, is also part of the Junts parliamentary group of this legislature. As MES, he ran in the 2017 elections with Esquerra to join Junts in 2021.
Action for the Republic
This group was promoted by Agustí Colomines, a man always linked to the Democratic Convergence of Catalonia (CDC) who became president of the controversial Trías Fargas Foundation. She has been around Puigdemont for years and has as its visible head Aurora Madaula, also a member of Parliament for Junts since 2017. This parliamentarian, along the lines of the reviled Laura Borràs, has been involved in a shocking episode in which she denounced the leadership from the party for harassment. This complaint has not prevented her party from lending itself to the Perpignan photo with the aim of re-editing her seat.
Catalan State.
They are the heirs of Francesc Macià's party, but today it is totally testimonial. In 2003 they stood for election to the Parliament of Catalonia and obtained 1,890 votes, a figure that was clearly ridiculous. For years, Estat Català was under the umbrella of the Nationalist Front of Catalonia, which has turned to extreme right positions and from which Silvia Orriols emerges (who can now spoil the celebration of Puigdemont's triumphant return if, as the polls predict, he obtains a seat in Gerona and takes another in Barcelona) and separates from it to found Aliança Catalana.
Regrouping
Joan Carretero and Uriel Bertrán founded this party, splitting from Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya during the tripartite party led by José Montilla. The group, in which the former president of the Generalitat Joaquim Torra was a member, barely has any electoral impact today. In fact, Uriel Bertrán, as vice president of the Catalan National Assembly, tried to get this organization to run as an alternative list in these elections, but the ANC leadership lost to Puigdemont's supporters. Bertrán is now promoting an electoral candidacy for Solidaridad Independentista, a party once led by the president of Barça, Joan Laporta.
Els Verds Verda Alternative
It is a long-standing party – it was founded in 1983 – but has been non-existent almost since its founding. The visible face of him is Santiago Vilanova, always linked to Convergència but always mayonnaise of all sauces. He gave support to Independent Solidarity, the Popular Unity Candidacies (CUP), Junts pel Sí and now he is joining Junts per Catalunya.
In this organization, created as a political and cultural society, he was active Lluís Companys and has nothing to do with ERC, from which it separated in 1989. It also had a relationship with the PSC and a stable collaboration, since 1994, with Democratic Convergence of Catalonia. In 1992 he ran for regional elections, obtaining 429 votes. There is nothing to suggest that they now have greater electoral influence.
This mass of acronyms will be the crutch of Carles Puigdemont to say that it champions a transversal movement of independence. And that is its objective. In the two acts that the Waterloo escapee has starred in, the initials and corporate colors of Together for Catalonia They have disappeared for the greater glory of what is a personal and, undoubtedly, egotistical candidacy.