The left-wing party Podemos will not field its own candidates in Catalonia in Spain’s 29 November general election, instead supporting the Esquerra Republicana (ERC) party under an agreement that will see Irene Montero and Gabriel Rufián (main image) campaign together.
Announced on Monday, the deal has prompted a sharp response from Comuns, the Catalan party involved in a separate effort to bring together forces to the left of the governing socialists (PSOE) under the Frente Amplio, or ‘Broad Front’, banner.
The dispute centres on how those parties should cooperate before the election. Podemos and ERC have agreed to support each other’s campaigning while retaining their separate political identities. Meanwhile, Comuns, Más Madrid, Izquierda Unida (IU) and Sumar are negotiating a wider electoral alliance and urging Podemos to join them.
That broader coalition has yet to confirm its overall leader or settle key candidate lists, with time running short to register electoral coalitions. ALSO READ: Pedro Sánchez calls a general election in Spain for 29 November.
What have Podemos and ERC agreed?
Under the arrangement, Podemos will support ERC’s candidacy rather than stand separately in Catalonia’s four electoral constituencies. ERC confirmed on Sunday that Rufián, its spokesman in the Spanish Congress, would lead its paliamentary election ticket.
Montero, who is seeking to become Podemos’s candidate for prime minister, will join Rufián at campaign events in Catalonia. He will also appear alongside her elsewhere in Spain.
In statements announcing the agreement, the parties described cooperation between left-wing forces as essential to stopping the far right and protecting people’s rights. ERC also argued that strengthening parties representing the left in Spain’s different nations was the way to confront reactionary politics, presenting itself as that option in Catalonia.
Whether Podemos representatives will take places on ERC’s candidate lists remains unresolved. ERC is considering including them in positions reserved for independents, but neither party has confirmed the number of candidates or their places.
Podem Catalunya coordinator María Pozuelo said any representatives from her organisation would emerge from its primary process. According to El País, the detailed agreement is also expected to require approval from ERC’s national council.
The arrangement therefore establishes electoral and campaign cooperation, while leaving the precise composition of ERC’s lists to be settled. ALSO READ: Spain’s housing crisis prompts general strike on 11 November, ahead of election.
Why has it caused a row?
Rufián had spent months advocating cooperation between left-wing parties supporting national sovereignty, raising hopes among the parties assembling Frente Amplio that he might join their project.
ERC, however, opposed giving up its own identity within a Spain-wide coalition. Rufián has now opted to lead ERC’s ticket, with Podemos supporting it in Catalonia.
Comuns, which competes with ERC for votes in the region, accused him of undermining the unity he had promoted.
‘Rufián came to unite the left and is doing everything possible to divide it,’ the party said in a statement, describing his recent moves as a source of ‘deep disappointment’ among left-wing voters.
Comuns nevertheless confirmed that it would contest the election in Catalonia under the Frente Amplio banner. It pointed to the second-place finish of the Sumar-backed candidacy in Catalonia at the 2023 general election as evidence of the electorate it represents.
‘We will not leave the hundreds of thousands of Catalans who placed their trust in us without representation,’ it said.
Rufián responded on X by renewing his appeal for cooperation, without directly attacking Comuns or ruling out a wider understanding.
‘I am going to try to achieve real cooperation between the pro-sovereignty and Spanish left right to the end,’ he wrote. ‘There is time. If less is leaked to win the day’s narrative and more work is done to actually win, it can be done.’
He also suggested that meaningful cooperation needed to go beyond rebranding an existing alliance: ‘This was never just about changing the name of something that already existed and leaving it at that.’ ALSO READ: PP, Vox and Junts attack Sánchez’s record as Spain heads for November election.
Who would lead the broader alliance?
Former Barcelona mayor Ada Colau is a leading option to head Frente Amplio, but her role has not been confirmed. A central complication is that she has made Podemos’s inclusion a condition of her participation. ALSO READ: Ada Colau ready to lead Spain’s new left alliance if Podemos and other parties join.
Comuns continues to back her, and IU publicly supported her on Sunday. Más Madrid has also proposed that she become the alliance’s leading figure while standing in Barcelona.
For Madrid, Más Madrid is proposing regional legislator Emilio Delgado as the lead candidate, with Health Minister Mónica García also on the ticket. The final allocation and order of places among the participating parties remain under negotiation.
Sumar’s Verónica Barbero said on Monday that talks were well advanced, but pressed Podemos to decide whether it would join.
‘Talking about primaries and at the same time about agreements with Rufián does not seem to fit,’ she told TVE. ‘I want to make the case for negotiation processes and invite Podemos to sit down at the table.’
Podemos is continuing with its own primaries on Wednesday and Thursday, close to the coalition registration deadline. Montero is currently the only candidate, although she has described the process as open to the wider left rather than exclusively to Podemos members.
IU leader Antonio Maillo has also urged the parties to reach a common agreement, saying all the organisations are needed. He expressed confidence that Rufián would help push for a single electoral proposal for 29 November.
Why does unity matter?
The argument is about both political leadership and the number of seats the parties could win.
A 40dB poll published on Friday for El País and Cadena SER estimated that, if they stood separately, Frente Amplio would secure between five and seven seats in Congress and Podemos two. A joint candidacy was projected to win between 14 and 19.
Those estimates have added urgency to negotiations, although they are projections rather than a guarantee of the election result.
The Podemos–ERC deal settles one question: Podemos will avoid competing against ERC in Catalonia. It leaves the wider issue unresolved – whether Podemos will also reach an agreement with Frente Amplio elsewhere in Spain, and whether Colau will lead that alliance.
Separately, the anti-capitalist Catalan independence party CUP has confirmed that it will not stand in the general election.
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Esquerra y Podemos han cerrado un acuerdo para las elecciones generales. Podemos no se presentará en Cataluña y contribuirá a la candidatura de los republicanos. Gabriel Rufián participará en actos electorales en el resto de España con Irene Montero. https://t.co/j2P2UIGI5A
— Telediarios de TVE (@telediario_tve) October 12, 2026
Yo lo vuelvo a decir. 1) Yo no voy a contribuir al culebrón turco de nadie. 2) Yo no voy a criticar por muchas ganas que tenga a nadie (por mucho desgaste que suponga). 3) Y yo voy a intentar que haya una colaboración entre las izquierdas soberanistas y españolas REAL hasta el final. Porque esto JAMÁS fue de cambiarle el nombre a algo que ya existía y YA ESTÁ. Todo cuanto se publique o se diga diferente a esto es simplemente mentira. Hay tiempo. Si se filtra menos para ganar el relato del día y se trabaja más para ganar de verdad, se puede.
— Gabriel Rufián (@gabrielrufian) October 12, 2026
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