Podemos joins ERC's Catalan list and rejects Frente Amplio before 29 November vote

Podemos joins the ERC list in Catalonia

Podemos announced on 12 October that it would not field its own candidacy in Catalonia for the general elections on 29 November and would instead contribute to the list of Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC), headed by its Congress spokesman Gabriel Rufián. Podemos members will sit on ERC's lists in all four Catalan constituencies, although the articles do not say which positions they will hold. Irene Montero, Podemos' political secretary and member of the European Parliament, said she and Rufián will work as a team across Spain, but the arrangement stops short of a joint coalition for the whole state. Montero did not explain why the deal with ERC was agreed without the same agreement with the Comuns, Podemos' counterpart in Catalonia. Coalition registration deadlines expire in a few days, and Montero justified the announcement by citing the short timetable and what she said people were asking of the parties.

1. Oct 12, 2026Podemos announces it will not run its own candidacy in Catalonia and will contribute to ERC's list headed by Gabriel Rufián
2. 12 October, afternoonFrente Amplio parties propose Ada Colau as their candidate for prime minister
3. Oct 13, 2026Irene Montero rules out joining Frente Amplio and says Podemos will work as a team with Rufián across Spain

Montero rules out joining Frente Amplio

Frente Amplio, formed by Movimiento Sumar, Comuns, Más Madrid and Izquierda Unida, proposed the former Barcelona mayor Ada Colau as its candidate for prime minister on 12 October, according to a statement issued after a meeting that afternoon. Montero, speaking on Cadena SER and on TVE, declined to say whether Podemos would join that ticket. Asked about the open door to Frente Amplio, she said she disliked this kind of debate and did not want to keep going round in what she called an "infinite loop". Her answer on the Cadena SER interview was brief.

I prefer my silence because I think it is what can best contribute to things going well.

Montero argued that the future of the Spanish left should be settled through primaries, and said that when an agreement exists it will be announced, adding that conversations on unity are always taking place.

Frente Amplio and criticism inside the left

Verónica Martínez Barbero, co-coordinator of Movimiento Sumar, said she still trusts that Podemos will join Frente Amplio. Speaking to Telecinco, she said:

The Frente Amplio is the unity of the left, and obviously all the political organisations that want to take part are invited, Podemos included.

Barbero also criticised Rufián's change of decision, which put ERC ahead of an alliance of nationalist and progressive forces, and recalled that at the 23 July 2023 general election no agreement was reached until the last moment. Former ERC consellera Montse Bassa told 3Cat on 13 October that the party could have consulted on the decision. She said it was hard for her to understand why Podemos would be on ERC's list while Rufián campaigns outside Catalonia.

Rufián's message and the open questions

Rufián responded in a post on X, saying he would not contribute to anyone's Turkish soap opera and would not criticise anyone however much he wanted to. He wrote that anything published or said that differs from the cooperation he describes is simply a lie, and that there is time. He also asked for fewer leaks and more discreet work to reach agreements. La Razón reports that talks to reunify the alternative left remain stalled, with the parties agreeing on the need to avoid a split vote but disagreeing on who should lead and under what conditions the lists are built. Podemos keeps pushing primaries, while Frente Amplio has favoured negotiating a joint candidacy. Montero said talks would continue:

We are going to keep talking and trying every form of collaboration.