The regional leadership demands Ripa’s deputy certificate, while those sanctioned accuse them of “appropriating the organization and treason” and demand an assembly to put an end to the conflict
The expulsion of Daniel Ripa and Andrés Vilanova (Ron) and the suspension of militancy of the doctor Jorge Fernández, chosen to go in position four on the regional list has unleashed a war without quarter this morning in Podemos Asturias, with a protest included from a group affiliated against the acting coordinator, Rafael Palacios, and against the spokesperson and councilor in Oviedo, Ana Taboada . The two leaders have publicly communicated this morning the resolution of the files open to Ripa, Ron and Fernández, after criticism and questioning of the decisions taken in the last year by the regional leadership of Podemos, headed by Sofía Castañón, who is currently low. The acting coordinator has affirmed that he expects Ripa to deliver his deputy certificate, although the former secretary general has announced this morning that he will appeal his expulsion before the state bodies of Podemos, “for which I have a period of 15 days”, according to saying.
“We have suffered personal attacks and hoaxes permanently,” Palacios assured before proceeding to read the resolution adopted by the state Democratic Guarantees Commission of the purple formation. Said resolution considers it proven that Ripa “damaged the image of the party, harmed the organization with public demonstrations and committed serious and repeated indiscipline”, incurring “six offenses, ranging from minor to very serious, for which he is expelled from Podemos “. In the case of Andres Fernández Vilanova, he is considered responsible “for speaking as a spokesman for Podemos in contacts with different organizations while he was suspended from militancy, in addition to participating in the campaign for an option to the regional primaries, seriously, expressly and ignoring reiterated the sanctions that had been imposed on him, for which he was expelled from Podemos”. Ripa has been the first general secretary of Podemos Asturies, while Ron has been one of the founders of the organization in Asturias and has been a regional deputy.
The sanction to Jorge Fernández, chosen in primaries to go in fourth place on the regional list, is different. “He made continuous and habitual accusations and attacks on the work of his colleagues, slandering, compromising his good name and being disruptive of common work, for which he is suspended from affiliation for six months and is suspended from participation in bodies and working groups for two years”, according to the resolution read by Rafael Palacios. It so happens that the three sanctioned are part of the Covadonga Tomé team, which won comfortably in the primaries held last November to elect the autonomous candidacy of Podemos. Ana Taboada has expressed “deep sadness over the sequence of events that have led to this point and at the same time we hope that the measures adopted will serve to close an unpleasant stage, characterized by the vengeful patrimonialization of a collective project”. While Palacios and Taboada held this press conference, they were interrupted and questioned by a group of militants who expressed their rejection and disagreement with these disciplinary measures. Outside the headquarters, both Ripa and Ron charged against Palacios, whom they accused of “usurpation without winning any trial”, and against Taboada “for treason”. Critics demand the holding of an assembly to put an end to this war unleashed in the purple formation in Asturias.
The suspension of membership of Jorge Fernández automatically entails his exclusion from the autonomous candidacy of Podemos, as confirmed by sources from the regional organization. The doctor was in position number four on the list that Covadonga Tomé will lead after having obtained 500 more votes than the members of the candidacy that Alba González had led and his sanction will mean that said position of the candidacy will go to the current spokesperson on the Board, Rafael Palacios, who was on the list that lost the regional primaries. The current acting coordinator recognized as “totally strange, I agree” that the regional candidate, Covadonga Tomé, has not had any dissemination of her activities in the communication channels of Podemos Asturies since she was elected in the primaries, last November. “There were meetings, it was impossible to coordinate and so we are permanently receiving complaints about the attitude from the territories,” Palacios valued in relation to the activity carried out by the candidate. Despite this questioning, the acting coordinator took “of course” that Tomé will be the head of the list in the regional elections: “The candidacy has been chosen and that is the candidacy,” Rafael Palacios declared at a press conference, in which many of their answers or those of Taboada were spontaneously refuted by affiliates or sympathizers who accessed the headquarters of the purple formation in Oviedo. After doors outside, where Ripa and Ron were, slogans such as “Palacios and Taboada resign, the only one who laughs is Barbón!” or “Rafa Palacios is not a coordinator because nobody chose you!”. After the press conference and protest, there was a plenary session at the General Meeting, where Palacios and Ripa are fellow bench members, although yesterday they did not meet together at any time.