The two faces of the Podemos crisis

The national deputy for Las Palmas, Meri Pita, left the ranks of United We Can this week with harsh criticism of the party. While the regional leadership sees a "clear intention" to harm the formation, Pita distances herself from personal interests, transfugism and assures that she will finish her stage in institutional politics in the Mixed Group.

Podemos Canarias did not expect Meri Pita's decision, but it has not taken them by surprise either. The party's Secretary of Organization, César Merino, assures that it is part of the 'modus operandi' of a sector that has come to "break wills and create frustrations." In his opinion, the deputy's justification with arguments of verticality and distance with respect to militancy "makes no sense."

Merino explains that recently
Podemos has concluded a route through the archipelago to recover presence after the difficulties of the pandemic, precisely, with the aim of shortening that distance and explaining the national and regional plans. A tour to which, in addition, the deputy was invited and where she "could have expressed those discrepancies that she claims to have."

In the opinion of the regional leadership, "these have not been the appropriate ways", despite recognizing the legitimacy of the deputy to step aside. "The logical thing is to fix the problems at home and I have not seen that the partner has voted against any resolution," says Merino. And he adds: "It doesn't seem consistent is that if you don't agree, don't leave the minutes." In this sense, the formation criticizes that with its position Pita has left the province of Las Palmas without representation.

Podemos Canarias denies, therefore, the seriousness of the content of the letter with which Meri Pita has said goodbye, and considers that there is a strategic plan to overwhelm the party "in a miserable way", which also goes through
the removal of El Hierro in the 2019 primaries, just 24 hours before the deadline to present the lists. "In politics, nothing is a coincidence," says Merino. Add to it the fact that certain ex-militants were creating a party behind our backs and that a file had been opened on some for breach of the code of ethics... it all adds up».

The truth is that taking into account the seat of Alberto Rodríguez, there are already two votes less for the organization. Without renouncing the minutes, they recognize little room for maneuver to make changes, so they will insist that someone else can take the baton.

On the need to create a broad front of the left, as the defined sector points out, the purple formation has bluntly assured that it will not commune with parties (or people) "with personal interests" that they do not intend to build. For the Secretary of Organization, "what needs to be changed is the political arithmetic to have a project with more representation, but with principles."

The internal disagreement in Podemos comes from afar. Meri Pita assures that the drift that the party's national leadership has taken has been moving away from the "embryonic project", which was to defend the interests of citizens from the bottom up, against traditional politics.

The straw that broke the camel's back for the already expelled Gran Canaria has been, on the one hand, the refusal of the formation to defend the interests of La Palma in the Congress tribune and, on the other,
the negotiation of Pedro Sánchez with the territoriality of the Canary Islands in the matter of the Sahara.

"This has not been a start but a very thoughtful, thoughtful and collective decision between political officials from several islands and a lot of militancy," Pita assured. "It is a 'enough is enough' to a situation that we have been denouncing for a long time and now we are making our way to rearticulate that space of change in which many parties enter."

However, Pita assures that her departure will not be to join the newly created formation by which was her second on the lists for the Podemos primaries in 2019, Carmen Valido (Reunir), or any other. In fact, she has stated that she will finish her cycle of institutional representation after this legislature. "I have no personal intention to continue, although I will contribute as I have always done from the citizen movement with my experience," she added.

Pita, who does not abandon her act as a deputy, will be placed in the Mixed Group to defend the same project for which the Canary Islands voted for Podemos but "a few seats away."
Thus, he prefers not to enter "the infernal puddle" that the accusations of turncoat or political opportunism suppose since, in his opinion, it is only "argumentary" to distract the public.

«What does it matter if comrades who have been expelled from the party set up another one? -defended the deputy- "There is nonsense in the general direction that is not worth discussing when we have raised other very serious issues."

In an exercise of self-criticism, he assures that mistakes have been made and some of his principles have been betrayed. Now, he affirms, a new stage is opening in which to "rearticulate that space for change." A statement that, despite acknowledging that "no one to the left of the PSOE" has a letter of marque, there are many people who have stayed on the road who can add: "We believe that we will be more useful outside and we will defend the postulates with humility , honesty and decency."