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The Andalusian PSOE lives another stage of change

2021-05-18T16:12:12.400Z


Socialist leaders who supported Susana Díaz explain their change of position and their commitment to Juan Espadas


The PSOE of Andalusia is shedding its skin again.

For the first time in its almost 43-year history, 46,531 militants - a census closed to May 6 - will decide who is their candidate for the presidency of the Board.

There are four applicants, but only two competitors: the general secretary, Susana Díaz, and the mayor of Seville, Juan Espadas.

In these internal elections, neither the stretcher table agreements nor the fingerprints are valid, but the individual and secret vote.

As always happens in this federation when a change is proposed, leaders who at one time were in one position change to another.

This is how the new majorities are formed in the PSOE.

Days ago in an interview on TVE, an Andalusian journalist asked Díaz about the loss of those supporters who beat the copper for her in the primaries with Pedro Sánchez in 2017. “I already know today, when people approach to you just to give you affection or who comes to look for another interest.

I am going to prioritize merit over cronyism, "he replied.

Socialist leaders who supported, encouraged and fought every inch for the former president explain with names and surnames to EL PAÍS why they have changed their position.

"This is not a question of affection or eternal loyalty," says Francisco Reyes, general secretary of the PSOE of Jaén. “There will be few who in their day worked more than I did so that Díaz won against Pedro Sánchez. He was convinced that it was the best option. She wanted to go to Madrid, she lost the primaries and from the same day that Sánchez won them, I started working for the general secretary. After two years of opposition, I am clear that we need a revulsion and that the best option to regain the confidence of the Andalusians is Espadas ”.

Irene García is secretary general of the PSOE of Cádiz, a group where local interests sometimes overlap with anything else that happens in the universe. “This is not about going from one side to another or going against anyone. I worked at another time with Díaz out of pure conviction and with the same conviction I do it now for Espadas. The time has come to take a leap and present an alternative with a different freshness. The only thing I would like is that the primaries do not turn into a confrontation ”, he assures.

Miguel Ángel Vázquez was spokesman for the Andalusian Government of Díaz and Minister of Culture. But not only, he was also at the tables where strategies were decided. He is a regional senator. “There was a political distancing. Two episodes have to be overcome: the federal committee on October 1, 2016, with the resignation of Pedro Sánchez from the general secretary; and the loss of the Board, on December 2, 2018. The elections are won, but with the worst result in history and that requires political reflection. There has been an absence of criticism and it is necessary to reconsider, retune again with the Andalusians with a new project and leadership. People understand that the party is moving towards irrelevance and that this way we will not be able to recover ”, he says.

Miguel Ángel Heredia was

number two

in Congress in the PSOE, nail and flesh of Díaz, when Sánchez resigned in 2016 as a deputy so as not to abstain from the investiture of Mariano Rajoy. He is a senator for Malaga, a member of the regional executive and coordinator of the territorial council of the Andalusian PSOE. His change of position has surprised many, although the distance with the former president has dragged on for months. “I support Espadas because the Andalusian PSOE needs a boost to go back to being what we were: the benchmark party in Andalusia. We need new ideas, new ways and a new project ”, he says.

José Caballos has been everything in the Andalusian and Sevillian PSOE. Former parliamentary speaker and former senator, he is a member of the socialist regional executive. "Díaz earned his leadership by hand, but since the Junta is lost and the opposition's task does not work, it is clear that a different alternative must be sought to recover the Junta as soon as possible with Espadas." The socialist leader supported Díaz in the primaries for the federal secretariat. “Pedro Sánchez won, but leadership is not achieved in the houses of the people, but at the polls when the citizens legitimize it. Sánchez succeeded. And Díaz could not internalize it. These primaries were expendable. For the game it was better for her to be part of the solution and not the problem, but she has not understood it that way ”.

Ángeles Ferriz is an Andalusian MP for Jaén. His name was in the pools shuffled by Ferraz. Díaz appointed her spokesperson for the executive, but she has not been in office for many months. “Susana Díaz has had everyone's support and we have to thank her for her work. But I do not believe that the 400,000 Andalusians who stayed at home on December 2 will vote for the PSOE again if it appears again. It demobilizes the progressive voter and we do not resist that [the president of the Board, Juan Manuel] Moreno consolidates himself, governs the right and we open the door to the PP in Spain. Díaz wanted to leave Andalusia and when it went wrong he wanted to prolong a fight with the secretary general. The feeling is that he wants a second round with Sánchez ”.

Teresa Jiménez, from Granada, is vice president of the Andalusian Parliament. As secretary general of the PSOE of Granda she worked "side by side" with Díaz and, like many others, believes that at the time she was the best to pilot the PSOE. “I do not deny anything that I have done in the past. But there are two moments: the federal committee on October 1 and the regional elections on December 2 where many people stayed at home [the PSOE lost 400,389 votes]. That day the citizens told us that they wanted other proposals and other leadership. And Espadas is in better conditions to recover the Board ”.

Sonia Ferrer has been a deputy to Congress for Almería for five years and was a provincial delegate of the Board. Like many, he supported Díaz in the federal primaries "because he was the best option for the party." After losing the Board and two years "of exercising a very weak opposition" that has "strengthened" the Andalusian president, he believes that the former president "is amortized." "You have to try an alternative and update," he says.

Isabel Ambrosio was the mayor of Córdoba and is now a spokesperson for the municipal opposition. At the time he supported Díaz. "Now the reality is different," he says. He likes the message of Espadas to count on mayors and councilors to promote the PSOE. The same happens to the former mayor of Granada and now municipal spokesman, Paco Cuenca, who affirms that the councilor of Seville is the candidate who is activating the municipal discourse the most.

The municipal spokesman in the Malaga City Council, Daniel Pérez, was until recently one of the leaders closest to Díaz. Espadas met him on Good Friday. He asked for time before pronouncing himself: “I have done an exercise in active listening, with many people from the street and the militancy and I came to the conclusion that a revulsive was necessary. I do it out of conviction. It was a difficult decision because I really appreciate Díaz ”.

Antonio Conde is the mayor of Mairena del Aljarafe (Seville) and secretary of his local group, vice president of the Provincial Council and member of the regional executive. He was one of those who bet on "an agreement and a transition." He affirms: “I have never been from 'yes,

bwana'

, but from a PSOE project that was a we, of a social majority. At the time when there is a project of the self, I will not be out of socialist conviction. We need a project that unites ”.

María Márquez is a regional deputy for Huelva. She is 31 years old and is the spokesperson for the Espadas candidacy. Together with other deputies, she worked to collect guarantees for Díaz: “My loyalty is with the PSOE and with the citizens. We need to change the party to excite the people and there is no right-wing government, nor that the party belongs to both. It's that easy".

Source: elparis

All news articles on 2021-05-18

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