Nueva Canarias-Bloque Canarista, Podemos, IU and Movimiento Sumar have announced this Thursday an agreement they have described as "historic" for the general elections on November 29, when these parties will run together under the banner "Unidad del Pueblo Canario (UPC)".
This was announced in a statement by the formations involved, which unite the different left-wing parties in the Canary Islands on one ballot, with the exception of Drago, in what is the first state-level agreement uniting Podemos and Sumar on the same ballot.
They are also doing so with acronyms that nod to Unión del Pueblo Canario, the coalition of communist, independentist, and left-wing nationalist parties in the Canary Islands that existed between the late 1970s and early 1980s.
In 2023, these left-wing groups (except Nueva Canarias) ran allied under the Sumar candidacy and obtained a seat for Las Palmas, which eventually broke away from that group, as its holder, Noemí Santana, was the general secretary of Podemos in the islands and preferred to represent the purple formation.
In Santa Cruz de Tenerife, where Sumar did not obtain a seat, the candidacy was led by the former Organization Secretary of Podemos and founder of Drago, Alberto Rodríguez, a formation that this time has opted to run alone.
For those who now make up Unidad del Pueblo Canario, with this agreement they "respond to the demands of the archipelago's citizens" and place among their priorities "the defense of the interests of the Canary Islands, the right to housing, and the strengthening of public services".
For Irene Montero, a Podemos candidate, the agreement reached in the Canary Islands also represents "the way forward," as she stated on her X account.
"We have reached an agreement with Nueva Canarias, IU, and other parties to run together in the elections. 'Unidad del pueblo canario' will be the name of the coalition. And we continue to seek agreements in more territories. Thank you, comrades, it is the way forward. We continue," she wrote.
"The confluence is born with a shared objective: to defend the interests of the Canary Islands with a strong and independent voice in the Congress of Deputies. The formations consider it essential that the unique characteristics of the Archipelago be heard and respected in state decisions. Faced with fragmentation, they have opted for cooperation, mutual respect, and political responsibility," the four parties state in the note.
The four forces, the note adds, understand that defending the Canary Islands "requires placing the needs of its citizens above partisan interests within the absolute framework of respect for Human Rights and the halt to fascism."
"Today, the capacity to build a better future for the Canary Islands together wins, not any individual acronym. Unity does not mean renouncing what each organization represents, but rather putting it at the service of a common project for the population and the territory we inhabit," the four forces stated.
The negotiation work has lasted "more than a year", according to these parties, a period during which "spaces for meeting, dialogue, and trust" have been built.
"The early general elections have made it possible to materialize this previous effort into a shared candidacy. Four political forces, with their own trajectories and identities, have decided to walk together. On November 29, there will be a single ballot, that of UPC, which represents the strength and hope of the Canarian people," the note concludes.
In a separate statement, Podemos Canarias has celebrated the unity of the left in the islands and calls for the agreement to be turned "into an example for the entire State."
"Podemos Canarias considers that disagreements can be overcome when there is political will and a shared objective. Therefore, we trust that the Canarian experience will serve as a reference for other communities and contribute to building a more united, brave, and committed left that addresses the needs of the social majority," Podemos stated.
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