The reunification of the left is failing in Andalusia.

Andalusia is destined to be the laboratory for a hypothetical reunification of the alternative left, but the first attempt at forging a consensus candidacy after the divorce a year and a half ago between Podemos, Sumar, and, by extension, Izquierda Unida has collapsed just as rumors about an early Andalusian election, initially scheduled for 2026, are gaining momentum. This past Wednesday was marked in red on the calendar. On the occasion of the fifth anniversary of Julio Anguita's death, one of the few common denominators shared by the space, the Prometeo collective organized a roundtable discussion in Córdoba under the unequivocal title "On the Same Shore." A reformulation of the theory of the two shores coined by the historic leader of IU—by which he placed both the PSOE and the PP on one side, due to the "number of objectives they share," and his party on the other, as the only truly left-wing organization—and which, according to the organizers, sought to serve as a catalyst for the "different proposals of the left in the face of anti-democratic movements." Read also Government crisis or Government in crisis Lola García Initially, both Antonio Maíllo and Irene Montero responded to the call. But the last-minute refusal by the purple MEP put paid to everything. Not only because of the impossibility of obtaining what would have been the first image of two prominent state leaders of IU and Podemos since the end of 2023—there was an attempt at the recent PCE celebrations, but Podemos representative María Teresa Pérez also dropped out hours before—but also because the letter in which Montero justified her withdrawal included resounding barbs at the "Government of War," as the purple party calls the Council of Ministers chaired by Pedro Sánchez and of which IU forms part as a coalition party in Sumar. “Julio Anguita has often asked us to think about the two shores. Today, those two shores are war and peace,” the letter states. “On one shore are the European elites and their governments, the forces of war, of rearmament to do the bidding of Trump and NATO, the forces of dismantling public services, the forces of unbearable complicity with the genocide in Palestine.” (...) On our shore are the people who demand peace, who demand a free Palestine, an arms embargo, and a break with genocide.” "Our task is to expand the horizon of peace and the advancement of rights, the horizon that opposes this government of rearmament that continues to buy and sell weapons to genocidaires," Montero accuses, before implicitly warning IU: "It is on the horizon of peace, against the government of war and support for genocide, that we will find ourselves." Antonio Maíllo (IU) sets June as the deadline to revalidate For Andalusia, the broad front that emerged in 2022 The blow of using words once used by Anguita himself to attack Izquierda Unida (United Left) is even greater, if possible, because of the timing. It comes just a few days after Antonio Maíllo's party proposed joint primaries to facilitate an agreement that would revalidate a broad left-wing coalition, as happened with the Por Andalucía (For Andalusia) coalition, which included, among others, IU (United Left), Podemos (Western Left), and Más País Andalucía (now known as Sumar). Izquierda Unida has criticized Podemos for its "short-term and political calculations" affecting the tribute to Anguita and has asked it to cease its criticism, especially since its party has nothing to prove to Podemos regarding its rejection of military spending. Maíllo's party will not throw in the towel prematurely and will continue to appeal to the "generosity" of all parties to reach an electoral agreement. However, in case the "mordados" are tempted to persist in their criticism, their spokesperson in Congress, Enrique Santiago, pointed out that the party led by Ione Belarra did not participate in the demonstration against the 2022 NATO summit when he was in power, while he did attend when he was Secretary of State for Social Rights in the previous term.