Candela López (Lomas de Zamora, Argentina, 1985) leads the Comuns together with Gemma Tarafa since November 2024. She is also in charge of the negotiations to rebuild what was Sumar.
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How is this reconfiguration process going?
We have been working on it for a year and a half. We started with the four parties that are in the Government –IU, Más Madrid, Comuns, and Movimiento Sumar–. Once this relationship is consolidated, we want the alliance to grow more. In recent months, we have set up working spaces with all the political forces that were part of the candidacy on 23-J about how this alliance should be, its governance, or its priorities. The idea is that during September these forces will debate the broad front proposal within their organizations.
Is there room for an agreement with Podemos?
The conversations are positive. All forces have shown the willingness to sit down and work on the configuration of this space, but right now nothing is closed. In September we will be able to announce news regarding the forces that have joined or who will lead this project and what it will be called. We are managing to materialize what others have talked about a lot but have not been able to articulate.
Are you talking about Gabriel Rufián?
Yes. It has been seen that he has given up leading the unity of the left and has decided to run for ERC in Catalonia. Unity is not made with headlines, but with meetings and discretion.
They contacted his circle.
Given the news that Rufián wanted to lead the left, we felt obliged to know what his proposal was. He did not want to hold any formal meeting and did not want to articulate this alliance.
And with the ERC leadership?
We met with Junqueras and Alamany. They told us that ERC would not form a left alliance.
Isn’t it too late to define the visible face of the project?
If we look at other times how projects have been built around leaderships, there have been successes and mistakes. Now, learning from those moments, we believe the important thing was to consolidate and have a solid project.
Ernest Urtasun and Ada Colau are among the candidates.
They are great leaders of our political space. Ernest leads many negotiations, such as the housing decree, with Pablo Bustinduy. He plays a predominant role among our ministers and the Government. As for Ada, she has stated that she does not want to lead this state project, but she is a political capital not only in Catalonia but nationally, having made great transformations. One way or another, they will have a role in the political space.
They are in favor of exhausting the legislature. Is it possible?
Yes, we must respond to the challenges of the moment. The PSOE has been surrounded by corruption cases, some of which are lawfare like that of the president’s wife. But then there are others that have had their legal course, and we cannot afford at a time like this to increase citizens’ distrust of institutions. Clear policies are needed.
Which ones?
On the one hand, stopping this corruption with the Anti-Corruption Agency. But also, today citizens, although macroeconomic data is good, still feel it is hard to make ends meet, that we have a serious housing problem, that the shopping basket keeps increasing. In the face of this, brave policies are needed. We have again placed the housing rental decree in the negotiation. Measures like these are what should make it worthwhile for this Government to continue.
Balance in Catalonia
“The Govern is late and poorly oriented. From now on, we will negotiate law by law”
And if the PSOE were charged with irregular financing?
It would be a moment when we should reconsider many things. We should see what that illegal financing means and where it comes from. But if it existed, it would be a situation we could not navigate and would have to decide about our role in the Government.
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Catalonia is halfway through the legislature. What is your assessment?
We managed to start a new stage with the investiture agreement, which has allowed setting the priorities of this Govern, and we are very satisfied with the progress we have made with the PSC. We have given them the other essential tool, which is the budgets. With them, what they must do is start advancing all these commitments with us.
Are they not fulfilling them?
It is a Govern that is late and not well oriented. We have seen it with the Rodalies crisis, in health, or the repeated crises in education. In those policies where they are not pressured and have to manage, they keep making mistakes.
Are you going to change the relationship?
What we will demand now is a negotiation law by law.
Illa has budgets to hold on until the end. Do you fear he will change alliances?
No. Right now the alliances are very clear, who has supported this investiture and these budgets. I think the Govern should have a clear roadmap to move forward and should not make mistakes with the partners who have allowed these agreements.
Regarding the limitation of speculative housing purchases, both PSC and ERC presented amendments that dilute their initial intention. Do you accept it?
For us, the important thing is that there is legislation that prohibits speculative purchases. What I hope is that PSC and ERC know what is at stake, that we are facing the biggest housing crisis we have ever had and that everything in our power must be done to prevent this from happening.
Don’t you think the TC might say they violate the right to private property?
It is an intentional debate that has been sought to be placed on this law. It was done with highly prestigious jurists so that it has all the guarantees and can be applied.
How do you assess the response to the Ceuta crisis?
The first thing to emphasize is that we are talking about a humanitarian tragedy. And what we have to place at the center are the 72 people who died trying to reach Ceuta by swimming. We know many people have returned voluntarily, but it must be guaranteed that they are treated with humanity, dignity, and full respect for their rights. Because it is evident that what is necessary is to provide solutions to the disastrous consequences of the policy of externalizing borders.
And what do you think of the response of some EU countries?
The response of some European governments, based on fear and national retreat, is shameful. It is not up to the task. This is a crisis that affects the European external border. It cannot fall only on Ceuta or the State. The European solidarity mechanism and support to manage asylum requests must be fully activated. It is also important to highlight that given the speed and coincidence with which Trumpism, the Israeli government, and their spokespeople have acted, it seems clear that the reactionary international has not limited itself to taking advantage of this crisis.
What do you see behind it?
With their messages, they have encouraged the attack against the Government, amplified it, and set the political objective: to destabilize it and bring it down.
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