Compromís and Podemos save unity in Valencia for 29N alongside Izquierda Unida, which maintains its reticence: "It's not a good agreement"

Compromís, Podem, Esquerra Unida and Esquerra Republicana del País Valencià have agreed to run together in the general elections on November 29. The candidacy will be called Compromís-Front Valencià and brings together the Valencian alternative left after a negotiation that was on the verge of breaking down due to the rejection of the Valencian federation of Izquierda Unida to the first offer. The pact arrives this Friday, just hours before the deadline to register coalitions closes.

Esquerra Unida has changed its decision after receiving a proposal with greater visibility for the constituent organizations. Its National Political Council has backed it with 66% of the support, after more than 75% rejected the previous offer on Thursday. The rectification allows the agreement between the leaderships to be closed, although a binding consultation with its members is still pending. Its coordinator, Rosa Pérez Garijo, maintains reservations and has stated that for EUPV "this is not a good agreement, nor is it the agreement we would want".

The understanding joins the one reached in the Canary Islands and allows organizations that remain at odds in state negotiations to share a candidacy. The Valencian coalition will have its own identity and does not imply the incorporation of Podemos into the Frente Amplio, made up of IU, Movimiento Sumar, Más Madrid and Comuns. The agreement also demonstrates that the lack of a state pact can coexist with territorial alliances between those same parties.

From rejection to yes with reservations

Esquerra Unida's refusal had put the joint ballot at risk. The formation argued that Compromís's proposal prevented it from having sufficient presence and presented its incorporation as an integration under an external candidacy. The disagreement affected the identity of the coalition and the visibility of its members, as well as the distribution of representation. While Compromís and Podemos advanced in their understanding, EUPV left open the possibility of running separately within the Frente Amplio.

Conversations continued during Friday morning and led to a second vote. Esquerra Unida justifies the change in the modifications to the offer, fundamentally in the name Compromís-Front Valencià and in the fact that the logos of all parties will appear below the common brand. The organization considers that these conditions represent a qualitative improvement over the previous approach.

The leadership's endorsement comes with public criticism of the negotiation's outcome. Pérez Garijo has stated that her party will be "equal to the historical moment" and will work to stop the right and the far-right. She has also called for responsibility from the other partners. The reservations expressed by the coordinator and the pending ratification by the grassroots leave issues unresolved within EUPV, which has gone from majority rejection to 66% support in less than a day.

The current Esquerra Unida deputy, Nahuel González, has announced that he will not be part of the lists to facilitate the agreement. In a message shared on social media, he acknowledged that these have been days of noise and difficult decisions and defended his resignation as a commitment to the joint candidacy. "I do it with my head held high, because I believe in unity above any personal interest," he explained. His decision allows the understanding to move forward without him repeating on the ballot.

The distribution and the seats

The agreed distribution reserves for Compromís the top spots on the list for Valencia and Castellón, and for Podemos the one for Alicante, where its regional coordinator, María Teresa Pérez, is expected to run. The current Compromís deputies Àgueda Micó and Alberto Ibáñez would occupy, respectively, the first and second positions for Valencia. This order preserves the presence of Més Compromís and Iniciativa, the two organizations to which they belong.

Esquerra Unida will have the third position for Valencia, for which the name of Lara Manyes is foreseen, a member of its executive and head of the trade union movement area. This place must be occupied by a woman due to the alternation of the lists. The departure of Nahuel González therefore implies a renewal of the EUPV candidacy, although his eventual return to Congress will depend on the coalition reaching the necessary votes.

The calculations managed by the alliance point to the possibility of obtaining six deputies, three for Valencia, two for Alicante and one for Castellón. This is an expectation of the negotiators, not a guaranteed result. As a reference, Compromís-Sumar obtained four seats in the 2023 general elections, three for Valencia and one for Alicante, and was left without representation for Castellón. The current aspiration would mean gaining two compared to that candidacy, in which Podemos and IU also participated.

The union prevents the votes of that space from being distributed among several ballots in each province, where the Congress seats are awarded. The pact also contemplates negotiating representation for EUPV in the Senate if a joint candidacy with the PSOE prospers, a possibility that is still pending closure. The collaboration for the general elections also leaves a precedent for the regional and municipal elections of 2027, although the disagreements of these days show that this continuity will still have to be negotiated.

An agreement that pressures Madrid

The Broad Front has celebrated the pact and has asked to extend it to the rest of the country. In its statement, it maintains that a single left-wing ballot is possible in all territories if there is will and demands a global agreement. The incorporation of EUPV into its own coalition with Podemos introduces a contrast with the position defended by the federal leadership of IU, which has refused to negotiate bilateral pacts outside the Broad Front and has insisted that unity must be addressed as a whole.

Podemos has also given the green light to the Valencian understanding within the consultation held this Friday. 87.7% of the votes have supported the set of agreements submitted to its registered members, with more than 10,000 participants in four hours, according to the party. This percentage covers the collaboration with ERC in Catalonia, the Canarian coalition, the Valencian agreement, and the progressive pacts for the Senate in Menorca, Ibiza, and Formentera; the vote also authorizes continuing to seek alliances until the deadline closes.

Pablo Iglesias has used the Valencian announcement to demand more territorial agreements. In a message published on X, he highlighted that ERC can compete with the Broad Front in Catalonia and share a coalition with parties from that space in the Valencian Community. The former leader of Podemos asks that those who are blocking other understandings "rectify and agree with Podemos". He also defends that competing separately in Madrid would not have an electoral penalty, a statement whose result would depend on the votes obtained and how they translated into seats.

After Canarias, the Valencian pact expands the territories where Podemos and IU will share a candidacy despite the state blockade. The agreements of Aragón and Baleares still did not include Podemos at the time of the announcement, while conversations continued to try to expand the alliances. The Compromís-Front Valencià partners have called the media at 6:30 p.m. this Friday at the Compromís headquarters in Valencia, and the deadline to communicate the coalitions to the Electoral Board ends at 11:59 p.m.