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United Left (Spain)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Spanish United Left)
United Left
Izquierda Unida
General CoordinatorAntonio Maíllo
FoundedApril 1986 (as coalition)
2 November 1992 (as party federation)
Youth wingÁrea de Juventud de Izquierda Unida
LGBT wingALEAS
Membership (2023)Decrease 18,000[1]
IdeologyCommunism[2]
Socialism[2]
Republicanism[3]
Political positionLeft-wing[6] to far-left[9]
National affiliationThe Left (2009–2014)
Plural Left (2011–2015)
Plural Left (2014–2019)
Popular Unity (2015–2016)
Unidas Podemos (2016–2023)
Sumar (since 2023)
European affiliationParty of the European Left
International affiliationIMCWP
Colours  Red
Congress of Deputies
5 / 350
Spanish Senate
0 / 266
European Parliament
0 / 61
Regional Parliaments
10 / 1,268
Local Government
1,678 / 67,515
Website
izquierda-unida.es

United Left (Spanish: Izquierda Unida [iθˈkjeɾðawˈniða], IU) is a federative political movement in Spain that was first organized as a coalition in 1986, bringing together several left-wing political organizations, grouped primarily around the Communist Party of Spain.[10]

IU was founded as an electoral coalition of seven parties, but the Communist Party of Spain (PCE) is the only remaining integrated member of the IU at the national level.[10] Despite that, IU brings together other regional parties, political organizations, and independents.[10] It currently takes the form of a permanent federation of parties.

IU took part in the Unidas Podemos coalition and the corresponding parliamentary group in the Congreso de los Diputados between 2016 and 2023. Since January 2020, it participated for the first time in a national coalition government, with one minister. For the 2023 general election, IU took part in the Sumar platform.[11]

History

[edit]
United Left logo from 1986. It was composed of the logos of the parties that signed the coalition. It would not be until 1988 that a specific logo for IU would be designed.
Julio Anguita, general coordinator of United Left from 1989 to 1999.

Following the electoral failure of the PCE in the 1982 general election (going from 10% to 4% of the votes), PCE leaders believed that the PCE alone could no longer effectively challenge the electoral hegemony of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) on the left.[10] With this premise, the PCE began developing closer relations with other left-wing groups, with the vision of forming a broad left coalition.[10] IU slowly improved its results, reaching 9% in 1989 (1,800,000 votes) and nearly 11% in 1996 (2,600,000 votes). The founding organizations were: Communist Party of Spain, Progressive Federation, Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain, PASOC, Carlist Party, Humanist Party, Unitarian Candidacy of Workers, and Republican Left.

In contrast to the PCE prior to the formation of IU, which pursued a more moderate political course, the new IU adopted a more radical strategy and ideology of confrontation against the PSOE.[12][10] IU generally opposed cooperating with the PSOE, and identified it as a "right-wing party", no different from the People's Party (PP).[12][10]

After achieving poor results in the 1999 local and European elections, IU decided to adopt a more conciliatory attitude towards the PSOE, and agreed to sign an electoral pact with the PSOE for the upcoming general election in 2000.[10] They also adopted a universal policy in favor of cooperating with the PSOE at the local level.[10]

IU currently has around 18,000 members, a decrease from 70,000 in 2012.[1][13]

Organization

[edit]

Composition and members

[edit]
Party Notes
Communist Party of Spain (PCE)
La Aurora Marxist Organization (La Aurora (OM)) Not a political party. Joined in 1998
Republican Left (IR) Left in 2002, rejoined in 2011
Unitarian Candidacy of Workers (CUT) Left in 2015, rejoined in 2018
Former members
Feminist Party of Spain (PFE) Joined in October 2015, expelled in February 2020 due to its stances on transgender rights.
Humanist Party (PH) April–July 1986
Carlist Party (PC) Expelled in 1987
Progressive Federation (FP) Left in December 1987, due to being dissolved.
Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain (PCPE) Left in 1988
Socialist Action Party (PASOC) Dissolved in 2001.
Red Current (CR) Joined in 2002, left in 2004
Anti-capitalists (IA) Joined in 1995, left in 2008
Coalition for Melilla (CpM) Joined in 2008, left in 2013
Open Left (IzAb) Joined in 2012, dissolved in 2018.
Timeline showing the parties that have formed or have been part of United Left since 1986 to 2022
Timeline showing the parties and/or organizations that have formed or have been part of United Left from 1986 to 2022.

Communist Party of Spain (PCE)

[edit]

In 1986, the PCE promoted United Left (IU) and participated with other political forces in its foundation, first constituted as an electoral coalition and later as a federation of parties. At the 13th Congress of the PCE it was decided to transfer its sovereignty to the bodies of IU, with its secretary-general Gerardo Iglesias also becoming the first general coordinator of the new coalition.

Under the leadership of the then secretary-general of the PCE, Julio Anguita, IU achieved the best results in its history, but health problems forced him to step down from the leadership. In 2008, the PCE regained leadership of the coalition with the election of Cayo Lara as general coordinator, with the objective of the Refoundation of the Left.

Republican Left

[edit]

It was part of United Left (IU) from its creation in 1986, participating actively in the coalition until 2002, when it broke away due to disagreements with the leadership of Gaspar Llamazares.

On 19 June 2010, part of its membership decided to participate in the process of Refoundation of the Left promoted by the new leadership of Cayo Lara, and on 6 February 2011, the party's return to United Left and the participation of its members in the coalition lists was confirmed,[14] although the sector opposed to this integration split off to create Republican Alternative.[15]

Communist Youth Union of Spain (UJCE)

[edit]

At the 3rd IU Assembly in March 1992, the Communist Youth Union of Spain (UJCE), the youth organization of the PCE, was recognized as a political organization affiliated with IU, independent from the PCE.[16] At that assembly it opposed the idea of constituting IU as a conventional political party, defending the theses of the PCE leadership, headed by Julio Anguita, of moving from the phase of coalition to that of a political and social movement.

At the 9th Federal Assembly of IU they supported the list headed by Cayo Lara, which won a majority, and he was elected coordinator. In this way the process of Refoundation of the Left began and four UJCE members became part of IU's federal political council.

La Aurora (OM)

[edit]

La Aurora (OM) was founded in 1974 as the Revolutionary Workers' Party of Spain (PORE) and joined United Left in 1998. In 2005 it created the Redes current within IU.[17] Its section in Catalonia, the most active, is integrated into EUiA through the Bastida current, while in the Basque Country it was integrated into Ezker Batua-Berdeak through Sarea/Redes (although part of the POR left the coalition in 2011 to call for a vote for Amaiur through the Erabaki collective).[18] In 2013 it changed its name to that of its publication, La Aurora.[19]

Ecosocialists of the Region of Murcia

[edit]

On 15 November 2010, the Regional Political Council of IU in Murcia unanimously approved the incorporation of a new political organization, Ecosocialists of the Region of Murcia, made up of people outside the left-wing coalition and independent members of it, and established with the objective, according to its statutes, of working in coordination with United Left to "transform society on the basis of the principles of social ecology, participatory democracy, and socialism".[20]

Initiative for El Hierro

[edit]

On 23 December 2010, United Left met in El Hierro with representatives of the leadership of Initiative for El Hierro, where the political agreement reached by both political formations was finalized. The agreement, ratified by the general assembly of Initiative for El Hierro, meant the recognition of this political force as the sole reference of United Left in El Hierro, maintaining its own political identity and decision-making capacity. Both sides maintain that the agreement reached aims to go beyond a simple electoral alliance and enable the process of reorganization of the entire transformative and alternative Canarian left.[21]

Broad Front of Madrid

[edit]

Broad Front was constituted in 2013 as an internal current of IUCM,[22] but in 2015 they announced their constitution as a political party within IU.[23] After the defederation of IUCM, Broad Front of Madrid joined as a constituent party of the new Madrid federation of IU.

Federal coordinators

[edit]
Name Period
Gerardo Iglesias 1986–1989
Julio Anguita 1989–1999
Francisco Frutos 1999–2001
Gaspar Llamazares 2001–2008
Cayo Lara 2008–2016
Alberto Garzón 2016–2023
Antonio Maíllo 2024–present
Composition of IU united left

Territorial federations

[edit]

Electoral performance

[edit]

Cortes Generales

[edit]
Congress seats from 1977 (as PCE) to 2011.
Cortes Generales
Election Leading candidate Congress Senate Gov.
Votes % # Seats +/– Seats +/–
1986 Gerardo Iglesias 935,504 4.6 5th
7 / 350
 3
0 / 208
 0 Opposition
1989 Julio Anguita 1,858,588 9.1 3rd
17 / 350
 10
1 / 208
 1 Opposition
1993 2,253,722 9.6 3rd
18 / 350
 1
0 / 208
 1 Opposition
1996 2,639,774 10.5 3rd
21 / 350
 3
0 / 208
 0 Opposition
2000 Francisco Frutos 1,263,043 5.4 4th
8 / 350
 13
0 / 208
 0 Opposition
2004 Gaspar Llamazares 1,284,081 5.0 6th
5 / 350
 3
1 / 208
 1 Confidence and supply
2008 969,946 3.8 6th
2 / 350
 3
1 / 208
 0 Opposition
2011 Cayo Lara with Plural Left
7 / 350
 5
0 / 208
 1 Opposition
2015 with Popular Unity
2 / 350
 5
0 / 208
 0 New election
2016 Alberto Garzón[a] with Unidos Podemos
8 / 350
 6
2 / 208
 2 Opposition (2016–18)
Confidence and supply (2018–19)
Apr-2019 with Unidas Podemos
5 / 350
 3
0 / 208
 2 New election
Nov-2019 with Unidas Podemos
5 / 350
 0
0 / 208
 0 Coalition (PSOE–UP)
2023 Alberto Garzón[b] with Sumar
5 / 350
 0
0 / 208
 0 Coalition (PSOE–Sumar)

European Parliament

[edit]
European Parliament
Election Leading candidate Votes % # Seats +/– EP Group
1987 Fernando Pérez Royo 1,011,830 5.3 4th
3 / 60
 — COM
1989 961,742 6.1 4th
4 / 60
 1 COM (EUL)
1994 Alonso Puerta 2,497,671 13.4 3rd
9 / 64
 5 EUL
1999 1,221,566 5.8 3rd
4 / 64
 5 GUE/NGL
2004 Willy Meyer 643,136 4.1 4th
2 / 54
 2
2009 with The Left
2 / 54
 0
2014 with Plural Left
4 / 54
 2
2019 Sira Rego[c] with UPCE
2 / 59
 2
2024 Manu Pineda[d] with Sumar
0 / 61
 2 —

Notes

[edit]
  1. ↑ Garzón was the leader of IU in the Congress, the leader of the Unidos/Unidas Podemos coalition was Pablo Iglesias Turrión.
  2. ↑ Garzón was the leader of IU in the Congress, the leader of the Sumar coalition was Yolanda Díaz.
  3. ↑ Rego was the leader of IU in the EP, the leader of the UPCE coalition was María Eugenia Rodríguez Palop.
  4. ↑ Pineda was the leader of IU for the EP, the leader of the Sumar coalition was Estrella Galán.

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 Fernández, Por David (November 27, 2023). "La hegemonía de la izquierda también se mide en cifras: Sumar alcanza los 70.000 inscritos, en Podemos votan 55.000 e IU tiene 18.000 afiliados". infobae.
  2. 1 2 Nordsieck, Wolfram (2019). "Spain". Parties and Elections in Europe. Archived from the original on 23 October 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  3. ↑ "European Social Survey 2012 - Appendix 3 (in English)" (PDF). European Science Foundation. 1 January 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 November 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  4. ↑ "Spanish voters wake up to new political landscape". openDemocracy. 25 May 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  5. ↑ "Democratic defender". POLITICO. 25 November 2009.
  6. ↑ [4][5]
  7. ↑ "Européennes : poussée du parti d'extrême gauche Izquierda Unida en Espagne". 25 May 2014.
  8. ↑ "Espagne : Podemos s'allie avec l'extrême gauche pour les législatives". 10 May 2016.
  9. ↑ [7][8]
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Electoral incentives and organizational limits. The evolution of the Communist Party of Spain (PCE) and the United Left (IU) (in English)" (PDF). Institute of Political and Social Sciences. 2002. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  11. ↑ RTVE.es (2023-06-09). "IU alcanza un acuerdo con Sumar para concurrir juntos a las elecciones". RTVE.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-08-09.
  12. 1 2 Topaloff, L (2012) Political Parties and Euroscepticism, pp192-193
  13. ↑ Entre coalición y partido, la evolución de modelo organizativo en IU, Luis Ramiro Archived March 26, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  14. ↑ "Izquierda Republicana se reincorpora a Izquierda Unida tras su salida en 2002". Las Provincias (in European Spanish). 2011-03-21. Retrieved 2022-04-15.
  15. ↑ "A sector of Republican Left denies the agreement with IU" [Un sector de Izquierda Republicana desmiente el acuerdo con IU]. www.publico.es. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  16. ↑ Cite error: The named reference Sin-nombre-p2Br-1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ↑ "IU pledges that none of its parties will support other forces." Público, 9 November 2012.
  18. ↑ "The Erabaki collective of EB will call for a vote for 'Amaiur' in elections and calls for the unity of 'the entire Basque left'." Europa Press, 1 October 2011.
  19. ↑ Cite error: The named reference Sin-nombre-p2Br-2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ↑ "IU integrates the formation Ecosocialists of the Region of Murcia into its political and social project." 20 minutos, 15 November 2010.
  21. ↑ "The Left unites in El Hierro." Initiative for El Hierro, 24 December 2010.
  22. ↑ "Letter establishing Broad Front as a current of opinion of United Left–Community of Madrid" [Carta de constitución del Frente Amplio como corriente de opinión de Izquierda Unida-Comunidad de Madrid]. web.archive.org. 23 May 2013. Archived from the original on 4 September 2013. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  23. ↑ "Broad Front becomes a political party" [Frente Amplio se convierte en partido político]. web.archive.org. 4 March 2015. Archived from the original on 30 November 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  24. ↑ Following the tradition of the Spanish left since the formation of the Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia (PSUC) in 1936 (when communists and socialists joined forces in Catalunya), IU doesn't have any organization of its own in Catalonia. Until 1998, the referent of IU in Catalonia was Initiative for Catalonia (Iniciativa per Catalunya, now known as IC-V). But IC eventually broke relations with IU. A split in PSUC followed, and a new Catalan alliance, United and Alternative Left (Esquerra Unida i Alternativa, EUiA), was formed as the new Catalan referent of IU.
  25. ↑ IU rompe "a todos los efectos" con su federación madrileña. El Diario, 14/06/2015 - 10:48h. Aitor Rivero.
  26. ↑ La militancia de IU Madrid elige a Mauricio Valiente y Chus Alonso al frente de la nueva formación. Público, 03/05/2016.
[edit]
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