Rufián and Oltra push for left-wing primaries and a united front at packed Valencia rally
ERC spokesperson Gabriel Rufián and former Valencia vice-president Mónica Oltra rallied supporters on Friday, calling for a broad left-wing front that goes beyond party labels and proposing primaries if parties cannot agree on a single candidate.
A united rally in Valencia
Gabriel Rufián, the ERC spokesperson in Spain's Congress, and Mónica Oltra, the former vice-president of the Valencian government and now Compromís candidate for mayor, held a joint event on Friday evening at the Parque de Cabecera amphitheatre in Valencia. The venue drew a full crowd of activists and sympathisers, with some estimates pointing to 700 seats filled and others describing thousands of attendees. It was the first public act Oltra has held with party members in more than four years and the third stop in a tour Rufián has conducted, following similar gatherings in Madrid and Barcelona.
The front rows gathered leaders from across the Valencian left, including Compromís spokesperson Joan Baldoví, MP Alberto Ibáñez, former Valencia mayor Joan Ribó, and representatives of Més Compromís, Iniciativa, Podem, Esquerra Unida, ERPV, Sumar, and the main trade unions.
Calls for a broad front and primaries
Rufián argued that the upcoming electoral cycle demands a coalition that goes beyond individual party acronyms. He urged left-wing forces to set aside their "minimal and miserable differences of the past and present" to form common fronts. When asked how to resolve disagreements among parties, he put primaries on the table.
And if the left can't agree: primaries, let's hold primaries, vote, and rally around the best candidate.
He told the crowd that being right is not enough when seven left-of-PSOE candidacies split the vote in a province with only five seats, and warned of an approaching social cost that makes unity urgent.
What's coming is really tough. It will bring an enormous social cost, a cultural and social regression.
Oltra's emotional return and appeal
Oltra opened the afternoon by stating that left-wing unity in Valencia city, and perhaps across the Valencian region, is already almost achieved. She called for "overflowing the party labels" and invited all formations, unions and associations to an assembly on 4 July that will confirm her candidacy for mayor. Approaching the end of the event she became visibly moved.
I could feel rage because they have done many vile things to me, but I am not capable of feeling rage. Shame has to change sides. It must be shameful to be a fascist.
Rufián's Catalan leadership ambition
Despite the pan-left message delivered from the stage, earlier in the day Rufián clarified the scope of his ambitions. Speaking about the proposal, he said he wants to lead a left-wing front in Catalonia with ERC as the driving force, a statement that deflated speculation about a Spain-wide candidacy.
I want to lead in Catalonia a left-wing front, with ERC as the driving force.
Attacks on the right and Carlos Mazón
Rufián also used the rally to sharply attack former Valencian president Carlos Mazón over his handling of the Dana floods of October 2024. He called Mazón a "psychopath and murderer," accused him of criminal inaction, and urged Oltra to help put him in prison. The ERC leader linked the need for a united left to preventing figures like Mazón from remaining in power, insisting Valencia can serve as a mirror for what a disciplined left can achieve.
