Clash in the Broad Front over Teruel for 29N: United Left rejects the withdrawal announced by Chunta Aragonesista and calls it a "nonsense"

The withdrawal announced by Chunta Aragonesista in Teruel already has a response within its own coalition. Izquierda Unida rejected this Wednesday the decision communicated by Jorge Pueyo that CHA-Frente Amplio Aragón will not present a candidacy for Congress in that province in the general elections on November 29. The organization demands to maintain a ballot and accuses its partner of assuming the argument of the "useful vote" of the PSOE, on a day marked by disagreements on how to concentrate progressive support.

The general coordinator of IU Aragón, Marta Abengochea, considers it "an absurdity" that one of the territories most affected by depopulation is left without the alternative that her organization intends to represent. "We cannot present ourselves only where we believe we have assured representation. Political responsibility consists of being also where it is most difficult," she maintains in the statement released by IU.

The coordinator of IU Teruel, Dani Palomo, has raised the tone against Chunta, whose decision he describes as "a contempt for the left-wing people" of the province. "Why do they apply the argument of responsibility and generosity in Teruel, and not in Huesca or Zaragoza? Are we second-class Aragonese?" he asks. He also reproaches an Aragonese formation that, in his opinion, abandons one of the three provinces of the community.

The partners also disagree on how the decision was made. Palomo denounces it as "unilateral", while CHA sources consulted by 'Cadena SER' maintain that the coalition agreement attributes to Chunta the choice of constituencies in which they run and that IU and Frente Amplio were informed. IU's public reaction shows, in any case, that this information did not translate into shared support for the withdrawal.

Pueyo had defended the move "out of responsibility" and to "avoid vote dispersion", with the aim of favoring a progressive majority in Congress and the Senate. In his announcement, the president of CHA proposed concentrating efforts for the Lower House in Zaragoza and Huesca and maintaining presence in Teruel only in the joint candidacy for the Senate. IU responds that it will do "everything possible" for there to finally be a list for Congress.

Maíllo's rejection finds another front

The clash in Teruel brings the discussion that crosses the Frente Amplio into the Aragonese coalition. As 'ElConstitucional.es' reported this afternoon, sources from the space confirm that the PSOE has proposed renouncing its own candidacies and incorporating independents into its lists in Galicia, Euskadi and nine other provinces. The approach finds internal discrepancies and particularly firm resistance from IU, without a closed agreement.

The withdrawal announced by CHA coincides with this electoral concentration strategy, although it does not accredit a pact with the PSOE for Congress in Teruel nor the integration of candidates in its lists. Pueyo's announcement consists of ceasing to compete with its own ballot in that constituency. IU precisely questions that step and demands to maintain an organization with the capacity to pressure the socialists from its left.

Antonio Maíllo had ruled out that same morning extending agreements with the PSOE to Congress. Before the decision on Teruel was known, the federal coordinator of IU assured in the Andalusian Parliament that the pact "is limited to the Senate". Regarding the Lower House, he added that "that debate has not been opened in Congress nor do I think it is contemplated", according to Europa Press. His intervention responded to the words of Emilio Delgado, who the previous night had spoken of conversations to optimize electoral results.

The candidate of the Broad Front for Madrid had referred on 'La noche en 24 horas', on TVE, to "open conversations trying to maximize and optimize electoral results". The coalition later clarified that negotiations with the socialists affected the Senate and maintained its intention to present candidacies for Congress in all provinces. The announcement by CHA and the immediate opposition from IU now show the difficulty of sustaining a common position on the ground.

Abengochea bases her rejection on the need to maintain her own voice against the PSOE on housing, public services, employment, and depopulation. "The working class of Teruel needs a left that forces the Socialist Party to implement brave policies," she states. The leader accuses Chunta of adopting the socialist framework of the useful vote and argues that IU's political presence must also be maintained where gaining representation is more difficult.

Three seats and two opposing strategies

Teruel distributes three deputies, a figure that leaves very little margin for small candidacies. In the 2023 general elections, the PP obtained two seats with 26,586 votes and the PSOE secured the third with 22,226. Coalición Existe was left out, with 11,348 votes; the far-right Vox, with 9,932, and Sumar, with 4,126.

This result explains CHA's calculation, which aims to avoid distributing support among candidacies that may end up without a deputy. It also forces a clarification of the limits of this strategy. Hypothetically adding all of Sumar's 2023 votes to those of the PSOE, while keeping the votes of the other parties intact, the distribution would still have been two seats for the PP and one for the socialists. The usefulness of a withdrawal depends on the support in each election and the destination of those votes, which no organization can take for granted.

The 2026 scenario also incorporates a new division. Podemos was part of Sumar in 2023 and has now been left out of the alliance of CHA and Frente Amplio, while its state leadership has expressed its intention to run in all constituencies. The withdrawal of this coalition, therefore, does not allow concluding that any other candidacy to the left of the PSOE in Teruel will disappear. The struggle between IU and Chunta occurs after negotiations to unite this set of forces on a single ballot did not come to fruition.

IU claims to have its representatives for Congress elected since October 13, but the common candidacy remains pending resolution. Its own communication on Tuesday explained that these proposals should be integrated into the coalition's lists. Now it demands to run within the Broad Front in the three Aragonese provinces; this Wednesday's statement does not announce an independent list registered nor a rupture of the alliance.

The agreement with the PSOE for the Senate continues to be the meeting point between the partners. In Aragon, the socialists occupy the first and third positions of the joint candidacies, while CHA has the second in Zaragoza and Teruel and IU the second in Huesca. The dispute known tonight refers to the Congress ballot.

The calendar leaves until Monday, October 26, to present the candidacies. Before that, this Friday, Chunta will hold an extraordinary National Committee to elect who will head the list for Zaragoza and the rest of its representatives. That meeting will come with the withdrawal from Teruel announced by Pueyo and with IU publicly demanding that it be reversed.