Junts per Catalunya will begin this Friday, in Calella—a town in the Barcelona region of Maresme de Calella—the congress that will mean the return of the former president of the Generalitat Carles Puigdemont in front of the party. Puigdemont has been a grassroots activist in recent years, since, at the last congress – held in Argelers, a French town in Catalonia North, in June 2022 – he chose to leave the presidency of the party to dedicate himself to the work of MEP, and to head the so-called Consell of the Republic.
In reality, Puigdemont He has never abandoned the leadership of the party and few things move in the post-convergent formation without his authorization. Even decisions such as the electoral list of the last parliamentary elections in May, or the agreements with the PSOE for the investiture of Pedro Sánchez, have been managed directly by the former president. But the change from MEP to deputy of the Parliament, and the fiasco of the Consell de la República – an entity that has not finished coming together – have led Puigdemont to decide to regain the reins of Junts also organically, returning to occupy the presidency of the game.
This weekend’s congress in Calella, the third since the founding of the party in 2020, will not mean major changes in the leadership of Junts, since Puigdemont will once again be enthroned at the head of the party. But Yes, a recomposition of forces in the direction. With the fall of the former president of the Parliament, Laura Borràs – who will leave the presidency of the party – and her followers, and the rise of figures such as the head of the parliamentary group in Congress, Míriam Nogueras, the councilor of the Barcelona City Council and current spokesperson for the leadership, Josep Rius, the spokesperson in the Parliament, Mònica Sales, or the until now leader of Demòcrates – a party that split from the former Unió Democràtica de Catalunya that will now join Junts -, Toni Castellà.
The congress program
Aside from the election of the new leadership, the other part of the congress that will have some interesting derivatives is that of the debate of the three presentations that will establish the ideological position, the strategic direction of the party in Catalan and Spanish politics, as well as the restructuring of its internal functioning. For the congress, a poster has been designed where the strong ideas are the words nation, progress, freedom and independence.
The Junts congress in Calella It will start this Friday afternoon, with welcome speeches from the current president of the party, Laura Borràs, and the general secretary, Jordi Turull. Given the starting signal, the Congress Board will be approved – which the Executive proposes to be chaired by Josep Lluís Cleries – and the debate on the three presentations will begin.
On Saturday morning, the debate on the presentations will continue to incorporate or reject the amendments that are still alive, and once the texts have been definitively closed – before Saturday at two in the afternoon -, including the one that corresponds to how should be the organic structure of Junts, a period of 20 hours will be opened so that the candidates who choose to occupy the different positions can be presented. Voting will be telematic – open to all members, whether or not they are present in Calella – and will take place throughout Sunday morning until 1:00 p.m. The congress will close with the speech of the two main officials of the new elected leadership, who with complete certainty it will be Carles Puigdemont as president and Jordi Turull who will repeat as general secretary.
Debate of the 354 living amendments
As the amendment process of the three papers has gone, No major strategic or organizational debates are planned, but rather nuances. In fact, no amendment has been tabled to any of the three papers in their entirety. Nor is any major struggle for leadership expected, since it is foreseeable that no other candidate will challenge Puigdemont for leadership, and in his case an alternative would hardly succeed. Therefore, the big change in Junts that will mark the Calella congress this weekend will be the change in management. With the fall of Laura Borràs as president, or her associates such as the Secretary of Organization, David Torrents. And the promotion to the vice-presidencies of Puigdemont’s most trusted hard core such as Nogueras, Rius, Sales and Castellà. The latter also involves the integration of Demòcrates – a party that split from the former Unió Democràtica de Catalunya – into Junts, including its foundation, an entity that would most likely be headed by Laura Borràs.
The strategic Organization Secretary It will be occupied by the deputy in Parliament Judith Toronjowho comes from the Juventut Nacionalista de Catalunya (JNC) of which she was general secretary. For her part, the deputy in the Congress of Deputies Pilar Calvo will be the candidate for president of the National Council of the party, taking over from the president of the Parliament, Josep Rull.
Junts delegates will debate and vote on up to 354 live amendments proposed by members. This is the figure that remains after the writing teams of the three papers have transacted most of the alternative texts. It should be kept in mind that, according to sources from the congress leadership, 2,863 amendments have been presented, most of which were approved or overturned by the 70 territorial assemblies held, and another part transacted with those responsible for the presentations until this Wednesday.
60% of live amendments They focus on the organization of the party and how the leadership is chosenwith a total of 213; followed by 84 amendments to the strategic presentation and 57 to the ideological presentation. Although there are no fundamental questions regarding the official approaches, there are some aspects that may contradict the objectives set by Puigdemont and the management. For example, some amendment that wants to avoid voting on organic positions through “blocked and closed” lists. The objective is to avoid votes punishing certain leaders – as happened in 2022 in Argelers with David Torrents, a supporter of Laura Borràs – but if the amendment succeeds and individual votes are maintained as before, some member of Puigdemont’s list could be boycotted. The requirement of having a six-month membership to qualify for organic positions will also be up for debate. The management wants to suppress it to make the entry into the Executive of people who are not from Junts more flexible. A setback on this point would complicate the access of Antoni Castellà, of Demòcrates – and of independents – to Puigdemont’s leadership.
Immigration agency and elimination of inheritance tax
Regarding the strategic and ideological presentations, Junts proposes in its congress the “complete” elimination of the inheritance tax and creating a Catalan Immigration Agency. Junts’ ideological presentation is articulated through six axes: immigration and demographic challengeclimate action and digitalization, social and cultural rights, economy and knowledge, administration and foreign action. Added to these are three areas that they consider “cross-cutting”: feminism, youth and people with disabilities. The Catalan Immigration Agency that is proposed to be created, once the delegation of powers agreed with the Spanish Government is completed, would serve to “establish quotas and conditions of arrival” of migrants to Catalonia, or to implement “policies of real integration” through language. “It is the duty of the person who comes to Catalonia to know and use Catalan, but it is a right to be provided with courses,” they explain as an example.
Regarding taxation, the presentation proposes the “complete abolition” of the inheritance tax, which they defend would especially benefit the middle and lower classes. And in terms of housing, the document indicates that it is necessary to “reorganize the legislative medley” that they consider creates “legal uncertainty.” And they assure that they will “fight” “invasive” proposals that are processed in the Congress of Deputies. In terms of security, they demand “more territorial judges to quickly judge and sentence criminals,” or that city councils be able to appear in cases against people who “disrupt coexistence.”
Among the live amendments that will be debated this weekend, one stands out that wants to toughen the relationship that Junts currently maintains with the PSOE, with a view to the governability of the State. The amendment asks “consider broken” support for the PSOE in the Congress of Deputies, if there are no “obvious results” in the short term regarding the investiture agreements. However, most of the ideological amendments have been accepted and incorporated into the official text. For example, regarding the criticism that was initially made about “the hegemony of thought woke up“. The expression has been replaced by “demagogic thinking” and “thinking goodist“.
A congress to consolidate itself as the “central force of the country”
For the director of the Junts congress, the deputy in the Congress of Deputies, Josep Maria Cruset, this weekend’s conclave will serve for Junts “consolidates itself as a party and as a central force in the country.” Cruset sets the objective of making Junts “an even stronger party, with a vocation for Government and unequivocally pro-independence”, and of positioning the party as “the only alternative to the Spanish government of Salvador Illa”.
For Cruset, after the Calella congress, Junts “will be even more prepared to lead the country in the coming times.” And it also sets the objective of drawing a model for the country and the future that moves away “from governments with a tripartite base, a branchist perspective and the management of state policy.” “Catalunya will be ahead of the game,” he summarizes. According to party sources, Junts will lay the foundations this weekend to become the “cornerstone” of the independence movement and exhibit an “alternative for good government.” And the party will also open a new stage to “reduce hostilities” with ERC, and try to recover unity of action in the independence movement, they say.
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