Comment on the results of the recent general election, by Jordi Escuer (Manifiesto por el Socialismo and IU, Madrid)
The defeat of the right in Spain’s general election is very important event. From the Partido Popular to Vox, and the entire media apparatus that supports them, they are dismayed, they cannot explain why they lost the elections when everything pointed to their victory.
As the Spanish expression goes, “they had sold the bear’s skin before hunting it”. And now they are out of their boxes. For the left, the result represents stops the foreseeable attacks that a PP-Vox government would have unleashed and also presents an opportunity to fix the situation.
The left has needed a lift for a long time and July 23 has brought it. The right wing has bitten the dust and that has extraordinary value, because it provides confidence that it is possible to defeat it, that militant struggle works. The euphoria and the impudence with which the right wing have launched reactionary measures in all the new PP-Vox governments at municipal and regional levels, has been a determining factor. They had to be stopped and we have done so.
But there are at least two other important issues. On the one hand, there has been the mobilization of support for the Socialist Party, PSOE, which has benefited the vote. But in addition, the unified candidacy of SUMAR has also been decisive. Without it, it is very likely that we would be witnessing the negotiations between PP and Vox to form a new government.
It is true that SUMAR received less support than Unidas Podemos (UP) and Más País had in 2019. Even in the case of Madrid, SUMAR got less than Podemos-Izquierda Unida (IU, the ‘United Left’) and Más Madrid in the May 28 regional and municipal elections. But the truth is that until these last elections, the regional and local elections in May, UP was in free fall. If this unified list had not been forged, with all its defects — which we do not deny— it is most likely that we would have suffered a disaster and today the PP and Vox would be about to enter La Moncloa [the seat of the Spanish government].
The social environment has changed
Those of us who have campaigned in the neighbourhoods in recent weeks have witnessed a very important change in the environment. Unlike what we experienced in May, with an overwhelming lack of participation of people in militant activity, in this campaign, despite it being in July, we have had many more people involved. In fact, where there has been open participation, we have seen unaffiliated people join in the electoral work with enthusiasm and desire, while part of our militancy is still infused with skepticism, fatigue and mistrust.
In the case of Madrid, the last act of the campaign on May 28 and that of July 23 were like night and day, in terms of the number of people. At least 6,000 people attended the closing rally on July 21 [picture top] were infused with the mood it. It was not like the large rallies of the 1980s or of the May 2011 mass social protests against austerity and corruption, but the growth in participation is unquestionable.
In fact, from the leadership of Sumar, whereas the campaign was conceived as something fundamentally media-based, people have been involved and have responded with great participation.
Of course, we should not celebrate too much and ignore the fact that we continue to have a multitude of unresolved problems in the workers’ organisations. There is still great difficulty in working together, there is a sharp drop in membership participation and a dependence on leaderships with an obsession with internal control. There is an excessive weight of organisational work, a lack of political education, an absence of labour movement media, and so on.
However, the important thing is to see that this electoral result and the experience of the campaign show us that we have a good starting point to go ahead and solve them. Today we are in better conditions than a month ago. To give an example: in Madrid, in 10 of the 21 districts totalling half the city population, the left bloc is stronger than the right (in 9 clearly so, in one they have tied).
In them, SUMAR has been the third political force and has reached as much as 20% support. In many districts, SUMAR support groups have been created, made up of activists from the different organizations that make it up, with great degree of participation. There is plenty of ground to start rebuilding ourselves. That good atmosphere and participation has been widespread throughout Spain, which is an clear symptom of the change in the environment.
Connect with the majority of the working class
Support for SUMAR is a good sign. But we must not lose sight of the fact that a weak link continues to be the low participation in the poorest neighborhoods of the cities. Without remedying that, the right wing cannot be beaten, which is why it is necessary to build strong links with the poorest strata of the working class.
It is true that the greatest support for SUMAR is from the lowest income neighborhoods, but it is far from mobilizing all the existing potential. And there is also the fact that for the majority of those who suffer the worst living standards, the measures of the old coalition government hardly changed their existence. The Minimum Living Wage does not reach the majority of those who need it and the system is insufficient. It would be worse with the right wing in government of course, and that is why they lost, but being better than the right wing is not enough.
SUMAR has a good starting point because, during the campaign we had many expressions of support from migrants and young people, other sections that suffer the worst living conditions and who are now looking towards us.
The new government coalition which is likely to come to be formed, will face a much more difficult situation. On the one hand, the EU is already calling for a return to fiscal “austerity” and the economic outlook is, at least, heading for recesion. On the other had, a new government will depend on the PNV and Junts per Catalunya, two right-wing parties that are not going to give their support under any circumstances to left-wing policies.
Nevertheless, we should be looking to transform the good results of SUMAR and the activity the election generated, into a better organization, and a bigger political and social movement.
Socialist demands for an end to hunger
We must avoid getting trapped in a policy of simply supporting the “lesser evil” and instead put forward socialist demands for adequate public health, public education, real access to housing, decent employment, an end to hunger lines and the defence of all democratic rights. We need to argue for a in a mobilisation around such policies to gain enough strength to win the next election.
The PSOE leadership will probably follow in the footsteps of Zapatero’s second government of counter-reforms, and SUMAR must not be trapped into following that. Our motto should be inspired by that of the pensioners’ movement: whoever governs, our rights should be defended.
In the neighborhoods, in the localities, we have to continue building what we have put into practice in this election. Labour movement divisions must be overcome with unity, but with freedom of criticism, democratic structures and a clear political program. And good will.
This must be done by strengthening the links with the working class in the neighborhoods, from below. Just as we have fought together under the umbrella of Sumar to defeat the right in these elections, we must work together for the right of workers to housing, health and decent employment, without renouncing our different points of view.
On July 23, we have shown what is possible. SUMAR must continue and build itself inspired by these open and participatory proposals. A force like the United Left, IU, can and should play a key role in pushing in this direction, providing ideas and a good example. IU must argue for a programme that goes to the root of the problems and which unites the most basic demands with the need to overcome capitalism and build a socialist and democratic society. We have a new opportunity. Let’s take advantage of it.
The original for this article is from porelsocialismo.net, and can be found here.
