The planned municipalist act ends with the leader of Sumar standing on a bench along with three Podemos candidates
He landing of Yolanda Diaz in the campaign It was intended to be a municipalist act in Alcorcón, but it culminated as a attempt to Can to capitalize to the leader of Sumar. The Galician woman designed a campaign to distribute support among the left-wing and low-profile forces in the capital, where the battle is bitter between Can and More Madrid. He devised his first act in Alcorcón, a municipality in the south of Madrid governed by a left-wing coalition, to support his municipal candidate, jesus saints, Deputy mayor. A local formula that avoided entering the struggle of the left, in the midst of the strong tensions experienced with Podemos, which put strong pressure on Díaz to campaign for his candidates and avoided supporting him in his electoral launch.
But what was planned as a leisurely stroll through town on a weekday morning turned into a battle for the photo. Late this Tuesday, Podemos included its regional candidate, Alejandra Jacintoand the candidate for mayor of Madrid, Roberto Sotomayor, despite the fact that these presences were not initially planned. In Sumar’s agenda, unlike that of Podemos, neither of the two purple leaders appeared, and only the deputy mayor of Alcorcón was cited.
The Minister of Equality, Irene Montero, celebrated early in the day in Congress that Yolanda Díaz was going to campaign for Jacinto and Sotomayor, ignoring the presence of Jesús Santos himself, also leader of the Podemos federation in the Community of Madrid. “We had asked him to campaign, Today he is going to do it for our candidate for the Community of Madrid, Alejandra Jacintoand for our candidate in the City Council (of Madrid), Roberto Sotomayor”, defended Montero in statements from the Congress of Deputies.
Podemos thus strives to put its Madrid candidates on the agenda, before the serious risk of being left out of the Community of Madrid and the City Councilwhere today they do not have representation, even more so after the latest polls, which place them below the 5% of the vote necessary to obtain representation.
“I come to support Alcorcón to win”
The expectation was maximum. A suit-wearing Santos awaited Díaz’s arrival alone at the convocation point, with a swarm of journalists and cameras waiting for the vice president, who upon her arrival made clear the intention of her visit. “I come here to support Ganar Alcorcón”, he assured in statements to the press, without making any mention of the rest of the purple candidates.
“Politics has to be useful and improve people’s lives (…) and Jesus is a guarantee. Talking about Alcorcón is talking about good politicswhich leaves noise aside and seeks solutions& rdquor ;, he continued, insisting on his usual message of fleeing confrontation and insults, in contrast to the usual tonic of the purple ones.
The harmony between Santos and Díaz became evident. The Ganar Alcocón candidate corresponded to the Galician’s words and took the opportunity to launch the campaign slogan “Alcorcón smiles again”, a message that he said “has to do with your smile, Yolanda”, and is intended for a campaign “in positive”.
On the run for the photo
The idea was whate Jacinto and Sotomayor joined a few minutes later, as it were. The vice-president and the deputy mayor prepared to begin the ‘paseíllo’ through the municipality, and at the precise moment they stopped to take a photograph together, the two Podemos candidates appeared from behind, who at first they were left behind the tumult, not knowing if he dared to cross the small mass bath to join. “Can we go now? & Rdquor ;, Jacinto asked one of his assistants. Santos and Díaz had resumed their walk, and the Podemos leaders rushed forward to join to the protagonists of the act.
Once together, Jacinto and Sotomayor flanked the Sumar leader, while Santos was left to one side, despite being the host. The vice president, who has a good relationship with the autonomous candidate of Podemos, grabbed the leader’s arm, in a gesture of sympathy. Fewer winks she dedicated to the athlete and rival of José Luis Martínez Almeida, Sotomayor. “Remember that we are in Alcorcón, eh? & rdquor ;, Santos joked at that moment of the meeting, and in the presence of the candidate for mayor of Madrid capital.
The ‘paseíllo’, which was intended to be a low profile act, sand turned into a small mass bath, with dozens of neighbors stopping the leaders to ask for photographs. 350 meters separated the starting point from the first stop, a small tent in Ganar Alcorcón. If under normal circumstances it is a tour that takes five minutes, the leaders took twenty to do it. Once there, Díaz found herself thrust into another situation that was totally unforeseen.
A meeting in a bank
He had not thought of any intervention of the rally format, but once in the tent and before the commotion created -with more than a hundred people crowded in the street-, Santos took a microphone to thank the support when they encouraged him from the public to get on to a bank. “Get on here & rdquor ;: “Come on, I’ll get on & rdquor ;. And she did not climb solo.
The scene ended with four politicians on top of a bench, which was sealed because it had finished painting. Santos continued his intervention to recall that “this is Alcorcón & rdquor ;, and where he again recalled his presence at Yolanda Díaz, who shrugged a few centimeters away, on the same bench.
The surprise came when the microphone passed into the hands of Jacinto, who took the floor in a sort of improvised rally which he took advantage of to campaign for the autonomous region: “Being here is the best demonstration that we want to”. “Thanks to your strength we are going to face the policies of Isabel Díaz Ayuso& rdquor ;. There was no intervention from Díazwho returned to the ground as soon as he could to continue as the protagonist of the neighborhood procession, in which he allowed himself to be photographed with dozens of neighbors for nervousness of their escorts.
The walk took them to a nearby square, where there were some information tents from Esmasa, a municipal garbage collection company. After the usual visit, the second vice president got into the official car to leave the place. Jacinto and Sotomayor stayed there, took advantage of the media spotlight to make statements to the press. In them, the regional candidate addressed Yolanda Díaz and, ignoring her lack of express support, she wanted to “thank her for supporting us in unity candidacies, that we are the key.”