Podemos backs ERC pact while keeping Frente Amplio membership undecided

In interviews on Ser and TVE, Irene Montero presented Podemos’ recent agreement with Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC) as evidence that left-wing parties can find collaborative formulas, while insisting that open primaries remain the preferred method to structure the progressive space. She offered no details on reconciling this ERC pact with a potential inclusion in the broader Frente Amplio coalition that has coalesced around Ada Colau.

Hours later, party secretary-general Ione Belarra, in a radio interview, said she would keep quiet to help negotiations and suggested that Frente Amplio forces could attach themselves to the joint Montero-Rufián candidacy, without confirming a formal merger. Belarra also urged any group wishing to join to do so, calling the ERC agreement “historic”. Sources indicated Podemos is speaking with parties but not with any Frente Amplio coalition. Montero affirmed that Podemos members will appear on ERC lists in Catalonia, though she did not specify positions, and stressed that the alliance responds to citizen demand for broader representation.