Esquerra’s leader says “he is not afraid” of far-right Vox’s threat of applying anew article 155 suspending home rule: “We have beaten them many times”

Esquerra Republicana leader Oriol Junqueras emphasized in Tàrrega the anti-fascist nature of his party. Mr Junqueras thus assured that the votes for Esquerra “will not serve” the right and far right to govern the Spanish state, but will always serve to defend Catalonia and build alternatives against them.

He also dedicated a response to far-right Vox leader Santiago Abascal, who had threatened an “intense and long-lasting” application of article 155 suspending home rule in Catalonia. Faced with this, Mr Junqueras affirmed that “We are not afraid of them because we have already beaten them many times.”

On the other hand, Inés Granollers, who heads the Lleida constituency ticket, recalled the role of Esquerra at the parliament in Madrid, defending that they are there to condition the Spanish Socialist PSOE party to look to their left, while pursuing the objective of holding an internationally recognized referendum, for which she said “we will never stop fighting.”

In the same vein, Barcelona candidate Maria Dantas took the opportunity to review all the milestones reached by Esquerra over the last four years in Madrid, such as the increase in the minimum wage and pensions, the Children’s Act, the Audiovisuals Act and the law on euthanasia, among others. Ms Dantas highlighted that “the PSOE does not act, it is forced to act.”

Finally, the candidate to the Senate for Lleida, Sara Bailac, highlighted the Spanish state’s contempt for the Lleida counties, appealing to her fellow citizens for the vote. “For every time you have had to wait on a sun-baked platform for a [Spanish state-owned rail] Renfe train; for every time you have had to dodge the potholes at the exit of the A-2 motorway; for the rights that our grandparents fought for and that we must defend, on 23 July vote Esquerra Republicana!”