Podemos (Spanish political party)

Podemos
General Secretary Pablo Iglesias Turrión
Founded January 16, 2014
Headquarters Calle Zurita 21
28012 Madrid
Membership  (2015) Increase 368,959[1]
Ideology Left-wing populism
Anti-capitalism[2][3]
Soft euroscepticism[4][5]
Political position Left-wing[6][7]
European Parliament group European United Left–Nordic Green Left
Colours      Purple
Congress of Deputies
0 / 350
Senate
0 / 266
European Parliament
5 / 54
Regional Parliaments
15 / 1,268
Local Government
0 / 68,230
Website
www.podemos.info
Politics of Spain
Political parties
Elections

Podemos (Spanish: [poˈðemos], translated in English as "We can")[lower-alpha 1] is a left-wing political party in Spain, founded in 2014 by Pablo Iglesias.

Iglesias was a lecturer in political science at the Complutense University of Madrid and is a member of the European Parliament. In the European Parliament elections in 2014, Podemos received about 8% of the national vote, only four months after it had been founded.

Podemos was founded in the aftermath of the 2011–12 Spanish protests against inequality and corruption. It is considered by some as a left-wing populist party that seeks to address the problems of inequality, unemployment and economic malaise that followed in the wake of the European debt crisis. Podemos has called for a renegotiation of austerity measures and seeks to curtail the Treaty of Lisbon.

Podemos is the second largest Spanish party by number of members after the People's Party;[8] it became the third largest party within the first 20 days it allowed membership, with 100,000 signing up in that period,[9] and it currently has over 350,000 members.

History

Foundation

Pablo Iglesias Turrión, leader and founder of Podemos

Podemos came from the aftermath of the Indignados movement against inequality and corruption in 2011.[10] Its origin can be found in the manifesto Mover ficha: convertir la indignación en cambio político,[11] presented over the weekend of 12 to 13 January 2014, which was signed by thirty intellectuals and personalities, such as Juan Carlos Monedero, associate professor of political science at the Universidad Complutense of Madrid (UCM); the actor Alberto San Juan; Jaime Pastor, associate professor of political science at the UNED; the writer and philosopher Santiago Alba Rico; the former leader of the Left Trade Union Current Cándido González Carnero; and Bibiana Medialdea, associate professor of applied economy at the UCM.[12] This manifesto argued that it was necessary to create a party list for the European Parliament elections that year, with the goal of opposing the dominant policies of the EU from the left. Even though he was not one of the signatories of the document, on 14 January it was announced that Pablo Iglesias, a professor of political science at the UCM and a TV presenter, was to head the movement.[11] The movement was organized by the party Anti-Capitalist Left (Izquierda Anticapitalista),[11] the Spanish section of the Trotskyist Fourth International,[13] which had written the Mover ficha manifesto in its internal documentation, designing the stages to launch the new movement.[14] One of the points highlighted by Iglesias was the derogation of the 135th article of the Constitution (which was made in 2011 by the major parties People's Party (PP) and Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE)); full application of the 128th article of the constitution ("All wealth of the country in all its forms and no matter who owns it, is subordinated to the people's interest"); and maintaining abortion rights.[15] They also demanded Spain exit from the NATO, and support self-determination rights.[16]

The Podemos movement was officially presented 16 January 2014 in the Teatro de Barrio, in the Lavapiés neighbourhood of Madrid. A press conference was given, with the attendance of hundreds of persons, and in which Pablo Iglesias, Juan Carlos Monedero and others intervened; the USTEA syndicalist, activist of the Marea Verde and Anti-capitalist Left member Teresa Rodríguez;[17] the psychiatrist and member of the Marea Blanca, Ana Castaño; the researcher and analyst Íñigo Errejón, the social activist Miguel Urbán, militant and head of the Left Anti-capitalist party list for Madrid in the 2011 general elections. Its fundamental goal was to oppose the austerity politics which were being applied.[18]

To go on with the project and present itself to the European elections of 2014, the members of the bare-bones of Podemos set three conditions upon themselves: to receive the support of at least 50,000 people; that both party lists and the programme were elaborated through open participation; and that unity with other parties and movements of the left was to be found,[18] such as United Left,[11] the Popular Unity Candidates, the X Party, the Andalusian Workers Union, Anova or the citizens' mareas (tides).[16] The 50,000 signatures were obtained in less than 24 hours[19] and the Podemos website crashed due to the high traffic.

European elections 2014

On 25 May 2014 Podemos entered candidates for the 2014 European parliamentary elections, some of whom were unemployed. In a surprise result, it polled 8% of the vote and thus was awarded five seats out of 54.[20][21]

Regarding the election Pablo Iglesias was described as pessimistic by El País: “We have lost these European elections. They have been won by the People's Party. We cannot be happy about this." He stated that his objective is to "move forward until we throw the PP and the PSOE out of power."[22] "We will now work with other parties from the south of Europe to make it clear that we don’t want to be a German colony.”[22] Iglesias said Podemos MEPs would not take the standard MEP salary of more than €8,000 (£6,300) a month, stating that "not one of our MEPs will earn more than €1,930 (£1,520), an amount that's three times the minimum wage in Spain".[23]

Rise in popularity

Graph of opinion polls about voting intention for the 2015 Spanish election. The purple line is Podemos, the blue line is PP and the red line is PSOE.

According to GlobalPost, Podemos and other parties of the left have suddenly grown because of Europe's economic difficulties.[24] Unemployment, especially among young Spanish adults, has created a positive sentiment towards Podemos and their appeal to the unsatisfied youth of Spain with an "irreverent style".[24] Podemos also used its very well run social media presence to its benefit to find popularity.[24]

After becoming the fourth most voted political force in the European elections, news related to the growth of Podemos started to be published. The hashtag Pablo Iglesias was the number 1 trending topic on Twitter in Spain the day after the elections[25] and Pablo Iglesias Turrión appeared on the front page of prominent Spanish newspapers. Before the elections, Podemos was already the most popular political force within social networks, but it had increased from 100,000 to 600,000 "Likes" on Facebook between May and July 2014.[26] The CIS' quarterly survey, polling over July 2014 (two months after the elections) showed Podemos as the second most popular party regarding direct intention of vote, surpassing the PSOE, but being a 0.9% behind the PP.[27] In late July, Podemos started to allow individuals to sign up, with 32,000 people registering as members in the first 48 hours, through Podemos' Web site, for free.[28] In the first 20 days, Podemos already had about 100,000 members, becoming the third largest Spanish party by amount of members, surpassing United Left (IU), Union, Progress and Democracy (UPyD), Convergence and Union (CiU) and Basque Nationalist Party (PNV/EAJ).[29] On August 2014, Podemos already had 442,000 more "Likes" on Facebook than the "Likes" of the rest of the parties combined, having 708,763, with more than 2.6 million views on its YouTube channel.[26] On September 2014, the interview of Pablo Iglesias in Viajando con Chester had almost 3 million watchers, being the most watched programme in its timeslot with 14.5% of the audience share.[30] On October 2014, Pablo Iglesias' participation in La Sexta Noche (in which he was also interviewed) rose the audience share of the program to 16,2%, which is its historical maximum.[31] Pablo Iglesias' interview in Salvados also made the program have its best ever audience, with a 23.8% and 5 million watchers.[32] In late October, Podemos had more than 200,000 members.[33] On 2 November 2014, El País published an opinion poll which gave Podemos 27.7% approval rating, compared to PSOE's 26.2% and PP's 20.7%, and gave Podemos a direct intention of vote of 22.2%, compared to PSOE's 13.1% and PP's 10.4%.[34]

First party congress - "Citizens' Assembly 'Yes, it can be done'"

On 5 June 2014, Pablo Iglesias announced that the Asamblea Ciudadana "Sí se puede" (Citizens' Assembly "Yes, it can be done") would take place in the fall season. He also announced that a team of twenty-five persons would be responsible for preparing such an assembly, to be elected in open elections (in which anybody could participate) with closed lists, with no limit to the amount of lists which can be presented. The vote took place from the Internet on June 12 and 13.[35] Two lists were presented, one of them headed by Pablo Iglesias,[36] and the other promoted by the Círculo de Enfermería (Nurses' circle).[37] The technical details of the election and the deadlines generated discussion within Podemos. In a meeting of Podemos circles which took place on June 8 in Madrid, there was criticism for both the closed lists and the short deadlines, which allegedly led to fewer lists being presented.[38] The electoral process, in which 55,000 people participated, gave the victory to Pablo Iglesias' list, with a 86.8% of the vote.[39]

A major part of the citizens' assembly consisted in the writing of documents, which determine the political and organizative principles of the party, and the resolutions the party will adopt. Any member of Podemos can present a document. It will be determined by a vote, all members of Podemos participating, which documents will be adopted. These will determine the structure and the party, and after that, internal elections will take place, again participating all members of Podemos, to fill the positions defined by this structure.[40]

The citizens' assembly had a meeting in Madrid during 18 and 19 October. On 19 October, Podemos membership was 130,000,[41] and on 22 October it was 170,000.[42]

The citizens' assembly resulted in the adoption of resolutions by the party, which were the five most voted, all of which were submitted by circles. Every member could vote for 5 resolutions. The approved resolutions were on improving public education (45%), on anti-corruption measures (42%), on the right to housing (38%), on improving public healthcare (31%), and on auditing and re-structuring the debt (23%).[43]

The ethical, political and structure documents proposed by the "Claro que Podemos", which included Luis Alegre, Carolina Bescansa, Íñigo Errejón, Pablo Iglesias and Juan Carlos Monedero were approved by 80.7% of the vote, surpassing "Sumando Podemos" 12.3% of the vote, promoted by the MEPs Pablo Echenique, Teresa Rodríguez and Lola Sánchez, in the vote for the structure document.[44][45]

Municipal elections 2015

In October 2014, Podemos decided not to stand directly in the May 2015 municipal elections in Spain.[46] Instead, it decided that its members would throw their support behind grassroots local candidacies, most notably Guanyem Barcelona, the citizen platform led by anti-evictions activist Ada Colau in Barcelona.

Policies

Podemos presented a collaboratively written programme for the European elections 2014. Some of the most notable policies are:

Response to policies

The New York Times stated that a challenge for Podemos would be putting together a true agenda noting that "the party’s 36-page campaign program reads like a wish list, with little detail about how it could be financed at a time when Spain is still struggling under a heavy debt burden".[47]

Reception

The support obtained by the new formation after the European elections in 2014 resulted in multiple analysis and reactions. While some sectors welcomed the results, later expressions of concern were also produced by their rise. Pedro Sanchez, Secretary General of the PSOE since July 2014, branded Podemos populist on numerous occasions at the beginning of his term,[48] while much of its electorate opted for the new party.[49] Vicente Palacio of Fundación Alternativas said that Podemos could have "very beneficial effects in terms of regenerating the Spanish democratic system", but is in danger of going "toward populism and demagogy, as has happened in the case of Beppe Grillo and his Five Star Movement in Italy".[47] As of November 2014, the PSOE has chosen, instead, to distance itself from populism and the extreme left, trying thus to preserve the center left.[50][51]

The leader of Union, Progress and Democracy, Rosa Díez, said that similarities can be found with the Greek leftist coalition Syriza, with the Five Star Movement of Beppe Grillo and even with the French far-right National Front of Marine Le Pen.[52] The spokesman for the People's Party, María Dolores de Cospedal, said that poll results show a radicalization of the left vote.[53] Esperanza Aguirre, another prominent member of the People's Party, accused Pablo Iglesias of "being with the Castrismo, with Chavismo and ETA", which Pablo Iglesias responded to statements described as "slander" and announced he would consider legal action.[54]

The leaders of Podemos had also had to try to distance themselves from the Government of Venezuela following allegations of "murky" funding since many Podemos leaders were linked to Venezuela and other "revolutionary" movements in Latin America.[55][56] Consulting work in leftist Latin American governments involving several members, including Pablo Iglesias earned their consulting organization, Center for Political and Social Studies Foundation (CEPS Foundation), €3.5 million which helped fund the television debate shows that helped Podemos' popularity to increase quickly.[55][56] Podemos called for an external auditor to observe accounts from February 2014 to December 2014 which showed that the total income from both private donations and state subsidies was at about €947,000, though the largest donors to the party were Podemos' own five MEPs.[55]

Election results

European Parliament

European Parliament
Election Candidate Size Votes % Seats ±
2014 Pablo Iglesias Turrión 4th 1,253,837 8.0
5 / 54

Membership history

Date Membership (approx.)
28 July 2014 0[9]
17 August 2014 100,000[9]
27 October 2014 200,000[33]
14 November 2014 250,000[1]
29 December 2014 300,000[1]
26 February 2015 350,000[1]

Notes

  1. ↑ In other Spanish languages the name of Podemos is as follows:
    • Basque: Ahal Dugu, IPA: [(a.)al du.ɣu]
    • Catalan: Podem, IPA: [puˈðɛm], [poˈðɛm], [puˈðəm] or [poˈðəm]
    • Galician: Podemos, IPA: [poˈðɛmos]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Iniciar sesión - Podemos". Podemos.
  2. ↑ Dixon, Hugo (23 November 2014). "Populists Challenge European Political Order". New York Times.
  3. ↑ Oier Lobera Ezenarro (2014). "Late, but finally here: Anti-Euro left-wing populism rising in Spain" (PDF). Brussels: Institute of European Democrats.
  4. ↑ Zabala, Santiago (2 December 2014). "In Europe, not all populist parties are the same". Al Jazeera America.
  5. ↑ "Euroscepticism or Europhobia: Voice vs. Exit?" (PDF). Notre Europe. 27 November 2014. p. 9.
  6. ↑
  7. ↑ "Spain's ruling PP wins EU vote, political fragmentation rises". Reuters. 25 May 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  8. ↑ García, Gustavo (28 October 2014). "Podemos ya tiene más ‘militantes’ que el PSOE". elboletin.com.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 "Podemos ya es la tercera fuerza en afiliados con 100.000 registrados". Público. 17 August 2014.
  10. ↑ "Pablo Iglesias Elected to Head Spain's Leftist Podemos Party". Agence France-Presse. 15 November 2014. Retrieved 18 December 2014. ... Podemos, a fast-growing Spanish far-left party set up in January ...
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Sánchez, José Luis; Gil, Andrés (14 January 2014), "Pablo Iglesias prepara su candidatura a las europeas: "Me han pedido que dé el paso"", eldiario.es, retrieved 24 May 2014
  12. ↑ Redacción (14 January 2014), "Intelectuales y activistas llaman a "recuperar la soberanía popular" con una candidatura para las europeas", publico.es, retrieved 24 May 2014
  13. ↑ "Spanish state - Anticapitalist Left", International Viewpoint, 17 December 2014, retrieved 17 December 2014
  14. ↑ Gil, Andrés (21 January 2014), "Un boletín interno de Izquierda Anticapitalista preparó el terreno a Podemos", eldiario.es, retrieved 24 May 2014
  15. ↑ cuatro.es, ed. (14 January 2014). "Pablo Iglesias anuncia su intención de presentarse a la elecciones europeas". Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Alcalá, Cristina (17 February 2014), "Las diez claves de la candidatura de Pablo Iglesias", Estrella Digital, retrieved 24 May 2014
  17. ↑ Muriel, Fernando (28 January 2014), "Teresa Rodríguez: "Siempre animo a la gente de IU a luchar a este lado de la barricada"", La Marea, retrieved 24 May 2014
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Giménez San Miguel, Luis (17 January 2014), "Pablo Iglesias presenta Podemos como "un método participativo abierto a toda la ciudadanía"", publico.es, retrieved 24 May 2014
  19. ↑ Redacción (19 January 2014), "Pablo Iglesias consigue en un día los 50.000 apoyos que pedía para seguir adelante con Podemos", El Periódico, retrieved 24 May 2014
  20. ↑ Sky news:Spanish voters punish mainstream parties
  21. ↑ "Vote 2014". BBC.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Gómez, Luis (26 May 2014). "The untamed ambition of Podemos, the surprise victor in Sunday’s poll". El País in English. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  23. ↑ Kassam, Ashifa (27 May 2014). "Podemos hopes to cement rise of citizen politics in Spain after election success". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 Ames, Paul (15 November 2014). "Europe looks left". Global Post. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  25. ↑ Trendinalia. "Trending topics en Twitter en España el 26 de mayo de 2014".
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Bollero, David (August 16, 2014). "Podemos se consolida como la primera fuerza política en redes sociales". Público.
  27. ↑ Hernández, Marisol (August 4, 2014). "Podemos supera al PSOE en intención de voto directa". El Mundo.
  28. ↑ Álvaro Carvajal (July 31, 2014). "Podemos suma 32.000 'afiliados' en 48 horas". El Mundo.
  29. ↑ "Podemos suma casi 100.000 inscritos en 20 días". Huffington Post. August 17, 2014.
  30. ↑ Redacción (September 29, 2014). "Pablo Iglesias gana la batalla de la audiencia a Artur Mas". La Vanguardia.
  31. ↑ Terán, Borja (October 5, 2014). "Pablo Iglesias lanza a ‘La Sexta Noche’ a máximo histórico de audiencias". lainformacion.com.
  32. ↑ Migelez, Xabier (27 October 2014). "'Salvados', con Pablo Iglesias, bate su récord histórico con un 23,8% y más de 4,9 millones". Fórmula TV.
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 López de Miguel, Alejandro (27 October 2014). "La propuesta de Iglesias para constituir Podemos gana por amplia mayoría con un 80,71%". Público.
  34. ↑ Garea, Fernando. "Podemos supera a PSOE y PP y rompe el tablero electoral". El País.
  35. ↑ Precedo, José (5 June 2014). "Podemos elige este mes un equipo para pilotar la asamblea fundacional de otoño". El País. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  36. ↑ Europa Press (11 June 2014). "Podemos elige al equipo que organizará su asamblea de otoño entre al menos dos listas cerradas". Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  37. ↑ "El círculo de enfermeras de Podemos presenta una lista alternativa". El País. 12 June 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
  38. ↑ Precedo, José (9 June 2014). "Las bases de Podemos se enfrentan a sus fundadores para exigir democracia interna". El País. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  39. ↑ Precedo, José (14 June 2014). "Pablo Iglesias obtiene el 86% de los votos para liderar Podemos". El País. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
  40. ↑ Pais Beiro, Mario (15 September 2014). "Podemos da el pistoletazo de salida a su maratón de decisiones". eldiario.es.
  41. ↑ García, Fernando (19 October 2014). ""No hemos venido para echarnos a un lado", replica una eurodiputada a Pablo Iglesias". La Vanguardia.
  42. ↑ "Malestar entre las bases críticas de Podemos por los "cambios en las reglas del juego"". El Confidencial. 22 October 2014.
  43. ↑ "Objetivos de Podemos: reestructuración de la deuda y paralización de los desahucios". Público. 19 October 2014.
  44. ↑ Riveiro, Aitor (27 October 2014). "Podemos confía en Pablo Iglesias: su modelo obtiene el 80,7% de los votos". Eldiario.es.
  45. ↑ Manetto, Francesco (27 October 2014). "Podemos confía todo el poder a la estrategia política de Pablo Iglesias". El País.
  46. ↑ Del Vecchio, Paola. "Podemos party revolutionizes Spanish politics". ansamed.info. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  47. ↑ 47.0 47.1 Minder, Raphael (29 May 2014). "Spanish Upstart Party Said It Could, and Did. Now the Hard Part Begins.". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  48. ↑ "Pedro Sánchez: "El populismo ha encontrado su expresión institucional en Podemos"". Publico. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  49. ↑ "¿De dónde vienen los votos de Podemos?". Europa Press. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  50. ↑ Diez, Anabel (30 November 2014). "El PSOE tratará de situar a Podemos en la extrema izquierda". El Pais. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  51. ↑ Manetto, Francesco (1 December 2014). "El PSOE y Podemos se disputan la hegemonía de la izquierda". El Pais. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  52. ↑ "Rosa Díez cree que las propuestas de Podemos se parecen a las de Syriza, Beppe Grillo e incluso Le Pen". Europa News. 27 May 2014. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  53. ↑ "Elecciones europeasCospedal ve "prematuro y alejado de la realidad" enterrar el bipartidismo". ABC.es. 26 May 2014. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  54. ↑ Manetto, Francesco (4 July 2014). "Pablo Iglesias ve "infamia" en las palabras de Aguirre y contempla acciones legales". El Pais. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  55. ↑ 55.0 55.1 55.2 Badcock, James (2 March 2015). "Podemos struggles to rebuff Venezuela link". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  56. ↑ 56.0 56.1 Chicote, Javier (24 February 2015). "Las actas de la fundación chavista CEPS acreditan los lazos con los líderes de Podemos". ABC. Retrieved 15 March 2015.

External links

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