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Background
Podemos emerged from the Indignados movement against inequality and corruption in 2011.[41] The group was inspired by the populist leaders of Latin America's Pink tide, which included Venezuela's Hugo Chávez and Bolivia's Evo Morales.[42]
In January 2014, it released the manifesto Mover ficha: convertir la indignación en cambio político ("Move A Piece: Turn Indignation Into Political Change"),[43] which was signed by thirty intellectuals and personalities, including Juan Carlos Monedero, Alberto San Juan, associate professor of political science at the National University of Distance Education (UNED) Jaime Pastor, the writer and philosopher Santiago Alba Rico, the former leader of the Left Trade Union Current Cándido González Carnero and Bibiana Medialdea, associate professor of applied economy at the UCM.[44]
Podemos' manifesto stated that it was necessary to create a party list for the 2014 European Parliament election, with the goal of opposing the dominant policies of the European Union from the left. On 14 January, Pablo Iglesias Turrión, a professor of political science at the UCM and a TV presenter, was announced as the head of the movement.[43] The movement was organised by the party Anti-Capitalist Left (Izquierda Anticapitalista),[43] the Spanish section of the TrotskyistFourth International,[45] which had written the Mover ficha manifesto.[46] One of the points highlighted by Iglesias was the derogation of the 135th article of the Constitution, which was made in 2011 by the major parties People's Party (PP) and Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE); full application of the 128th article of the constitution ("All wealth of the country in all its forms and no matter who owns it, is subordinated to the people's interest"); and maintaining abortion rights.[47] They also demanded Spain's exit from NATO and supported self-determination rights for autonomous communities.[48]
Foundation
The Podemos movement was officially launched on 16 January 2014 in the Teatro del Barrio in the Lavapiés neighbourhood of Madrid, with a press conference attended by hundreds of people. The speakers at the launch included Pablo Iglesias, Juan Carlos Monedero, Teresa Rodríguez,[49] psychiatrist and member of the Marea Blanca Ana Castaño, Íñigo Errejón and Miguel Urbán. The party's fundamental goal was to oppose the austerity policies of the government.[50]
In order to run in the European elections of 2014, the members of the bare bones of Podemos set themselves three conditions: to receive the support of at least 50,000 people; that both the programme and the lists of candidates be prepared through open participation; and that unity be sought with other parties and movements of the left,[50] such as United Left,[43] the Popular Unity Candidacy, the X Party, the Andalusian Workers' Union, Anova and the citizens' mareas ("tides").[48] The 50,000 signatures were obtained in less than 24 hours[51] and the Podemos website crashed due to the high traffic.
In August 2015, Podemos endorsed Jeremy Corbyn's campaign in the Labour Party leadership election. The party's international secretariat released a statement that "In Podemos we share Jeremy Corbyn's view that another Europe is not just possible but necessary". It added: "Against the irresponsibility of the troika and the Eurogroup, against the Europe of financial lobbies and puppet representatives, a new democratic and social Europe is emerging, and Jeremy Corbyn's victory would be a great step in that direction".[52]
El País described Pablo Iglesias Turrión as pessimistic about the outcome of the election: "We have lost these European elections. They have been won by the People's Party. We cannot be happy about this". He stated that his objective is to "move forward until we throw the PP and the PSOE out of power"[56] and that "[w]e will now work with other parties from the south of Europe to make it clear that we don't want to be a German colony".[56] Iglesias said Podemos MEPs would not take the standard MEP salary of more than €8,000 a month, stating that "not one of our MEPs will earn more than €1,930, an amount that's three times the minimum wage in Spain".[57]
First party congress
On 5 June 2014, Pablo Iglesias Turrión announced that the Asamblea Ciudadana "Sí se puede" (Citizens' Assembly "Yes, It Can Be Done") would take place in the autumn. Iglesias also announced that a team of twenty-five people would be responsible for preparing the assembly, to be chosen in open elections in which anybody could participate, with closed lists, with no limit to the number of lists which could be presented. The vote took place over the Internet on 12 and 13 June.[58] Two lists were presented, one headed by Iglesias[59] and the other promoted by the Círculo de Enfermería ("Nurses' circle").[60] The technical details of the election and the deadlines generated discussion within Podemos. In a meeting of Podemos circles which took place on 8 June in Madrid, there was criticism for both the closed lists and the short deadlines, which allegedly led to fewer lists being presented.[61] The electoral process in which 55,000 people participated gave the victory to Iglesias' list, with 86.8% of the vote.[62]
A major part of the citizens' assembly involved the writing of documents defining the political and organisational principles of the party as well as resolutions the party would adopt. Any member of Podemos could present a document and these would be adopted or rejected in a vote with all members of Podemos participating. These documents would determine the structure of the party. Internal elections would then take place, again with the participation of all members of Podemos, to fill the positions defined by this structure.[63]
The citizens' assembly held a meeting in Madrid on 18 and 19 October. On 19 October, Podemos membership was 130,000[64] and on 22 October it was 170,000.[65]
The citizens' assembly adopted five resolutions, all of which were submitted by circles, based on the votes of Podemos members, each of whom could vote for five resolutions. The approved resolutions were on improving public education (45%), on anti-corruption measures (42%), on the right to housing (38%), on improving public healthcare (31%) and on auditing and re-structuring the debt (23%).[66]
The ethical, political and structure documents proposed by the "Claro que Podemos", which included Luis Alegre, Carolina Bescansa, Íñigo Errejón, Pablo Iglesias and Juan Carlos Monedero were approved by 80.7% of the vote, surpassing "Sumando Podemos" 12.3% of the vote, promoted by the MEPs Pablo Echenique, Teresa Rodríguez and Lola Sánchez in the vote for the structure document.[67][68]
In the lead up to the 2015 general election, Podemos adopted a pledge that, if the party won the election, it would hold a nationwide referendum on whether Spain should retain the Spanish monarchy or become a republic.[72] The party also promised to increase public spending and ban job cuts in profitable firms.[72]
In April 2023, Podemos declined to join left-wing alliance with new party Sumar because of differences over how candidates are selected.[81] It was intended that these differences be resolved and negotiated on before Podemos would join the new alliance of left-wing parties for the upcoming general election scheduled for December 2023. Poor results for the ruling PSOE, Podemos and other left-wing parties in the Spanish local and regional elections held on 28 May 2023 led to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez calling for a snap general election, five months earlier than originally planned.[82] This resulted in a speeding up of the negotiation process with Sumar. On 9 June, Podemos came to an agreement to run together with Sumar at the upcoming general elections just hours before the deadline for the registration of coalitions with electoral authority.[83] Podemos immediately came into conflict with Sumar and its leader Yolanda Díaz over the inclusion of Podemos candidates on the electoral lists. The main point of conflict was the supposed veto of Díaz over the prominent Podemos politician and Minister for Equality, Irene Montero, wife of Podemos founder and former leader, Pablo Iglesias.[84] Montero was not to be included on the Sumar list for the Madrid constituency. This move was widely condemned by the leadership and supporters of Podemos, with former leader Iglesias calling it "a political mistake"' and asking Díaz to rectify it; he stated that he found it hard in the situation to separate "the personal from the political".[85] In addition, Podemos spokesperson in the Congress, Pablo Echenique, was also excluded from the lists.[86]Ione Belara, the General Secretary of Podemos, was placed fifth on the list for Madrid.[87] In the election, Podemos won five seats in the Congress of Deputies, out of 31 for Sumar in total.
On 5 December 2023, Podemos announced that they had broken with Sumar, and its five MPs moved from the Sumar group to the mixed group in Congress.[88]
Ideology
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Podemos supports the right to vote for immigrants, particularly Moroccans, as part of their "political rights",[123][124] and the party has called for the regularisation of over half a million of illegal immigrants.[125][126] According to Okdiario, Podemos "tries to revitalise its electoral expectations in a coveted voting camp: the immigrant one".[124]
The party supports a universal basic income (UBI) for everyone over 18 years of age in Spain. In January 2023, the party proposed the amount to be between €700 and €1,400 a month.[136]
Environment
The party is opposed to climate change and wants to create laws against "energetic poverty".[113]
This section needs to be updated. The reason given is: This was before they started charging a membership fee to be a member in 2020. Current numbers are significantly lower. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(June 2021)
As of 2019, there are 523,000 members and 25,000 activists.[159]
The support obtained by the new formation after the European elections in 2014 resulted in multiple analyses and reactions. While some sectors welcomed the results, there were also expressions of concern. Pedro Sanchez, Secretary General of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) since July 2014, branded Podemos populist on numerous occasions at the beginning of his term[171] while much of its electorate opted for the new party.[172]The New York Times stated that "the party's 36-page campaign program reads like a wish list, with little detail about how it could be financed at a time when Spain is still struggling under a heavy debt burden".[173] Vicente Palacio of Fundación Alternativas said that Podemos could have "very beneficial effects in terms of regenerating the Spanish democratic system", but is in danger of going "toward populism and demagogy, as has happened in the case of Beppe Grillo and his Five Star Movement in Italy".[173][174][175]
The leaders of Podemos also tried to distance themselves from the government of Venezuela following allegations of "murky" funding since many Podemos leaders were linked to Venezuela and other "revolutionary" governments in Latin America.[150][179] Consulting work by several party members, including Iglesias, in leftist Latin American governments earned their consulting organisation, Center for Political and Social Studies Foundation (CEPS Foundation), €3.5 million, which helped fund their television debates.[150][179]Juan Carlos Monedero, one of Podemos' founding members, received €425,000 for political consultancy work for Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia and Nicaragua.[150] Podemos called for an external auditor to observe accounts from February 2014 to December 2014, which showed that the total income from both private donations and state subsidies was at about €947,000. Among the largest donors to the party were Podemos' own five MEPs, who donated €52,000 in 2014 from their salaries.[150]
Relationship with the media
Since March 2015, journalists have been critical of the relationship between the political party and the traditional media.[180] In March 2017, around a dozen Spanish journalists filed a complaint with the Madrid Press Association (APM), accusing Podemos of intimidating them because they published articles that were critical of the party.[181] The Economist magazine has described the party as far-left.[182]
Popular support
This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(October 2021)
According to GlobalPost, Podemos and other parties of the left have suddenly grown because of Europe's economic difficulties.[183] Unemployment, especially among young Spanish adults, has created a positive sentiment towards Podemos and their appeal to the unsatisfied youth of Spain with an "irreverent style".[183] Podemos also used its very well run social media presence to its benefit to find popularity.[183]
After it received the fourth highest number of votes in the European elections, news related to the growth of Podemos started to be published. The hashtag Pablo Iglesias was the number 1 trending topic on Twitter in Spain the day after the elections;[184] Iglesias also appeared on the front page of prominent Spanish newspapers. Before the elections, Podemos was already the most popular political force within social networks, but it had increased from 100,000 to 600,000 "Likes" on Facebook between May and July 2014.[185] The CIS' quarterly survey, polling over July 2014 (two months after the elections) showed Podemos as the second most popular party regarding direct intention of vote, surpassing the PSOE, but being a 0.9% behind the PP.[186] In late July, Podemos started to allow individuals to sign up, with 32,000 people registering as members in the first 48 hours through Podemos' website for free.[187] In the first 20 days, Podemos already had about 100,000 members, becoming the third largest Spanish party by membership, surpassing United Left (IU), Union, Progress and Democracy (UPyD), Convergence and Union (CiU) and Basque Nationalist Party (PNV/EAJ).[188] In August 2014, Podemos already had 442,000 more "Likes" on Facebook than the "Likes" of the rest of the parties combined, having 708,763, with more than 2.6 million views on its YouTube channel.[185] In September 2014, the interview of Iglesias in Viajando con Chester had almost 3 million watchers, being the most watched programme in its timeslot with 14.5% of the audience share.[189] In October 2014, Iglesias' participation in La Sexta Noche (in which he was also interviewed) rose the audience share of the programme to 16,2%, which is its historical maximum.[190] Iglesias' interview in Salvados also made the programme have its best ever audience, with a 23.8% and 5 million watchers.[191] In late October, Podemos had more than 200,000 members.[160] On 2 November 2014, El Pais published an opinion poll which gave Podemos 27.7% approval rating, compared to PSOE's 26.2% and PP's 20.7%; and gave Podemos a direct intention of vote of 22.2%, compared to PSOE's 13.1% and PP's 10.4%.[192] The party lost much support in the polls during the final months of 2015 when elections were approaching (sinking to 13%) whereas during the election campaign experienced a huge rise in support in the polls up to 20% of vote days before the election.[citation needed]
According to Politico Europe'sPoll of Polls, Podemos has remained the fourth most popular party in Spain, since the November 2019 Spanish general election.[193] Podemos has polled, on average, at 11% by National Parliament voting intention.
Schweid, Richard (27 March 2021). "An Ex-King, Missing Millions and a Monarchy in Crisis". Politico. Retrieved 19 January 2023. The Socialist government's coalition partner, the left-wing Podemos (We Can) party, joined the separatists in condemning the ex-king's departure.
"Last of the commies". The Economist. 18 November 2021. Archived from the original on 11 July 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022. Podemos, a far-left Spanish party, is part of the governing coalition, but its brand of anti-austerity populism comes from a different tradition to Europe's remaining reds.
Hedgecoe, Guy (26 October 2021). "Sánchez faces tough battle to end Spain's €3.7B sex industry". Politico EU. Retrieved 26 October 2022. Unidas Podemos (UP), the hard-left junior partner in the Socialist-led government, is divided between abolitionists and those seeking to better regulate prostitution.
^De Vries, Catherine; Hobolt, Sara (2020). The Rise of Challenger Parties. Political Insight (Political Studies Association of the United Kingdom). Princeton University Press.
^Muller, Jan-Werner (2016). What Is Populism?. University of Pennsylvania Press. pp. 8–9. ISBN9780812293784. Both—especially Podemos—make a point of feeling inspired by what is commonly referred to as the "pink tide" in Latin America: the success of populist leaders such as Rafael Correa, Evo Morales, and, above all, Hugo Chávez.
^"Spanish Socialists See Door Closed on Coalition With Podemos". Bloomberg. 27 July 2019. Because the attempt to forge an alliance with anti-austerity party Podemos has failed, acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will have to explore 'other possibilities,' the Socialist Party President Cristina Narbona told reporters in Madrid Saturday.
^John Abromeit; Bridget Maria Chesterton; Gary Marotta; York Norman (2015). "Introduction". In John Abromeit; York Norman; Gary Marotta; Bridget Maria Chesterton (eds.). Transformations of Populism in Europe and the Americas: History and Recent Tendencies. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 19. ISBN978-1-4742-2522-9.
^Hedgecoe, Guy (26 October 2021). "Sánchez faces tough battle to end Spain's €3.7B sex industry". Politico EU. Retrieved 26 October 2022. Unidas Podemos (UP), the hard-left junior partner in the Socialist-led government, is divided between abolitionists and those seeking to better regulate prostitution.
^Burgen, Stephen (15 January 2023). "'We need to unite': how Yolanda Díaz is galvanising the left in Spain". The Guardian. Spain. Retrieved 17 January 2023. While Díaz was speaking in Barcelona, Ione Belarra, the general secretary of Podemos, was in Madrid presenting the party's plan to offer a universal basic income of between €700 and €1,400 (£620-$1,240) a month to everyone over 18 years of age.
^"Last of the commies". The Economist. 18 November 2021. Archived from the original on 11 July 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022. Podemos, a far-left Spanish party, is part of the governing coalition, but its brand of anti-austerity populism comes from a different tradition to Europe's remaining reds.
^ abcAmes, Paul (15 November 2014). "Europe looks left". Global Post. Retrieved 8 January 2015.