They will propose to regulate internal debate currents to establish themselves as such
Members of ERC from the Nova Esquerra Nacional collective, the candidacy led by Xavier Godàs, will amend the strategic presentation of the 30th ERC Congress so that the mandates of the presidencies and general secretaries of the party cannot last more than 12 years, whether continuously or with interruptions.
This is the case of the current party leader, Oriol Junqueras, who left the position a few months before being re-elected in the first phase of the ERC congress, which will culminate with the plenary on March 15 and 16 in Martorell (Barcelona).
Sources from the collective, led by Xavier Godàs and Alba Camps, have detailed that they will propose to eliminate the word «uninterruptedly» from the presentation, so a person who has been at the helm of the party for 12 years cannot return even if it has been in discontinuous periods.
The initial text also states that the 12-year period is suspended when the functions of the presidency or general secretariat cannot be fully developed «as a result of political repression (imprisonment, disqualification, exile, or political causes pending trial) and the effects of repression on their political rights.»
Nova Esquerra Nacional proposes to eliminate the word «fully» from the text, as they believe that in cases like that of Junqueras, despite being disqualified, he is able to carry out his functions as party leader.
If this amendment is approved, it will not be applied retroactively, but for the next congress of the party, which would be in four years if the current executive exhausts its mandate, at which point Junqueras would have been at the helm of the independence movement for 17 years.
INCOMPATIBILITY OF POSITIONS
In addition, as they defended during the electoral campaign in the first phase of the congress, this collective will present an amendment so that whoever holds the presidency or the general secretariat of ERC cannot «hold institutional positions during their mandate,» something that would also begin to apply in the next mandate and not the current one.
They will also propose to regulate the formation of internal debate currents within the party, which could be formed if they have the support of 3% of the total membership, and their representatives can express their opinions in party organs, present proposals at congresses, conferences, and assemblies, access internal media, and participate in deliberation processes.
Nova Esquerra Nacional has expressed its desire to become an internal current of the party, «with a constructive spirit, but expressing their political positions,» and they believe that the creation, operation, functions, rights, and duties of the currents should be established by regulation.
LIMITED QUALITY PRESENTATIONS
The same sources consider that the political and strategic presentations of ERC are of «limited quality» and should have been worked on better, and have proposed amendments such as including the secularism of the party, which is not mentioned in the original text, as well as specifying limits on agreements with the far right and with «any political force seeking agreements» with it.
The initial presentation mentioned the possibility of creating a consortium between the State Tax Administration Agency (AEAT) and the Tax Agency of Catalonia (ATC) for a progressive transfer of fiscal sovereignty; however, the party’s general secretary, Elisenda Alamany, announced that they would remove this phrase through a self-amendment.
Members of Nova Esquerra Nacional are not aware that this self-amendment has been submitted, so they will submit one to remove this phrase and rephrase the text, although it could end up being transacted with the self-amendment, they have pointed out.
STRATEGIC PRESENTATION
Regarding the strategic presentation, they will present an amendment to «define the national strategy for the referendum,» which will be developed with civil society and Catalan political organizations that are pro-independence.
They also advocate for collaboration with other agents of the pro-independence left in the State, mainly in the Basque Country and Galicia, and they aim to «create the conditions for a regime crisis» with the goal of dethroning the monarchy –verbatim–.
Xavier Godàs’ team also calls for the convening of a Conference of pro-independence left-wing parties in the fall of 2025, with the aim of «agreeing on a joint strategy for the municipal elections of 2027» and rebuilding this political space, which they believe could reach up to a million votes.