The alternative Andalusian left went to bed last night with a new hegemonic actor. José Ignacio García confirmed at the polls the overtaking that the polls had been anticipating for months since his Adelante Andalucía won eight seats – six more than in 2022 – and clearly surpassed Por Andalucía whose candidacy, led by Antonio Maíllo, stalled at five deputies without managing to capitalize on the return of the IU leader to the front line of politics.
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The election night thus left more than just a simple change within the space to the left of the PSOE. It confirmed a trend that had already appeared in other territories, such as Aragón with the Chunta Aragonesista, and which is none other than the rise of projects more rooted in the territory versus the plurinational formulas linked to Sumar. The Andalusianist bet of Adelante Andalucía thus prevailed over a coalition that, despite its reconstruction attempts, continued to orbit around a national brand with increasingly evident signs of wear.
The result also has enormous structural value for the formation founded by Teresa Rodríguez after her break with Podemos in 2020. The eight seats will allow Adelante Andalucía to have its own parliamentary group, a decisive tool to consolidate its territorial growth. Because the great leap of José Ignacio García’s candidacy was not only in the number of deputies but in its ability to break its geographical limits.
Had they run together, both formations would be the third force nearing 20 deputies
Until now, the formation had essentially been a project rooted in Cádiz, with significant presence in Seville and part of Huelva. But this 17-M has managed to break ground in other provinces such as Córdoba or Granada by channeling the vote of an alternative left seeking a reference far from the eternal Cainite disputes.
In García’s circle, they summarized the project’s evolution days ago with a simple phrase: “A candidate who smiles, who does not quarrel.” And yesterday, smiles multiplied in his team after a campaign articulated around proposals very close to the territory and a calculated distance from national battles. “We talk about proposals for Andalusians, not about the little fights of the left,” he repeated in recent days. The message ended up resonating at the polls and, according to García himself, “will now lead Adelante Andalucía to run in the general elections.”
The formation has also capitalized on García’s good performance in electoral debates and a communication strategy especially effective on social media. A success slowly cooked apart from the accelerated times set by Madrid.
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The stagnation of Por Andalucía raises doubts about IU’s role in the reconstruction of Sumar
The night was very different for Por Andalucía. The plurinational coalition saved face by maintaining its five seats, but that stagnation leaves a taste of defeat since, of the six seats in which the space to the left of the PSOE has grown, Maíllo’s did not gain a single one.
Although the veteran Córdoba leader began his pre-campaign in December insisting on the need to “walk all over Andalusia,” the coalition negotiation extended to the legal limit when Podemos accepted to join at the last minute during Holy Week. The alliance, however, seemed more formal than political since neither Irene Montero nor Ione Belarra shared a stage with Maíllo during the campaign.
The IU leader aspired to turn a good result into the starting point to lead the reconstruction of the alternative left after the wear of Sumar and Yolanda Díaz’s withdrawal. But the stagnation leaves more questions than certainties.
Adelante Andalucía expands in all provinces and announces it will run in the general elections
Beyond each formation’s reading, the results left one last paradox: the bloc grew, but division relegated it again in governance. Had they run together, they would have surpassed Vox and nearly reached twenty deputies as the third force. The warning, one more, is the last before the general elections.
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