Understanding Podemos (2/3): Radical populism
Luke Stobart continues his series exploring the rise of Podemos.
The first part of Left Flank’s series exploring the rise of Podemos looked at the positive incorporation in the project of the “Indignados” (15-M) movement’s participatory democracy and radical opposition towards “politics”. Here Luke Stobart looks more critically at the “radical populism” that has shaped the approach of its dominant grouping (and now formal leadership) and how this represents a break as well as continuity with 15-M.
The “secret” of Podemos according to Pablo Iglesias:
I have defeat tattooed on my DNA. My great-uncle was shot dead. My grandfather was given the death sentence and spent 5 years in jail. My grandmothers suffered the humiliation of those defeated in the Civil War. My father was put in jail. My mother was politically active in the underground. My first experience of political socialisation as a child was in the mobilisations against NATO [in the 1980s], which was the last time that the Left in this country thought we could win. It bothers me enormously to lose. … And I’ve spent many years, with colleagues, devoting almost all of our political activity to thinking how we can win … The things I say in the mass media and how I say them require a great many hours’ work where we think about how to move through an absolutely hostile terrain. … We were in Latin America and we watched and watched how they did things there to win. And here is the secret. The first thing is not to feel any fear …. [Second] I know that all Left activists want the whole of the Left to be united. … If all of the Left organisations were, then we can beat the rogues in charge. Rubalcaba and Rajoy love it that we don’t think like that because they know that then we would be limited to 15 or 20 per cent [of the vote]. … I don’t want to be the 20 or 15 per cent. I don’t want my biggest political aspiration to be taking three regional ministries from the Socialist Party. I don’t want to be a “hinge”. I want to win. And in a context of complete ideological defeat in which they have insulted and criminalised us, where they control all of the media, to win the Left needs to stop being a religion and become a tool in the hands of the people. It needs to become the people … I know that this pisses off people on the Left. We like our slogans, symbols and anthems. We like getting together as a group. We think that if we get several party initials on a poster this means we are going to win. No way. [Winning] is about people’s anger and hopes. It is about reaching people who otherwise would see us as aliens because the Left has been defeated. … What should democrats do? Democracy is taking power off those that monopolise it and sharing it out among everyone, and anyone can understand that. … 15-M sent a damned message — firstly to the Left and there were left-wingers that took it badly. I remember Left leaders saying “I’ve been ‘indignado’ [outraged] for 30 years. Are these kids going to come and tell me what being outraged is all about?” OK, but it wasn’t you that brought together hundreds of thousands in the Puerta del Sol. The fact that [15-M] held the largest mobilisation since the NATO referendum and that this has been able to change this country’s political agenda to put the demand for democracy first, does that reveal [the Left’s] strength? No, it shows our damned weakness. If the unions and social organisations were organised, we wouldn’t need things like [Podemos]. The problem is that in times of defeat so you don’t get defeated again, …. you have to think and say “we can be the majority”.
— Iglesias, speaking in February during a debate with Alberto Garzón of Izquierda Unida (IU; United Left)
Although the Trotskyist Izquierda Anticapitalista (IA; Anti-Capitalist Left) played a significant role in shaping Podemos from the beginning — for example while IA’s Miguel Urbán coordinated the Podemos “circles” as local bases to actively create “popular power”, the leadership of Podemos is dominated by the grouping around Pablo Iglesias. He, as part of a network of Madrid Complutense university lecturers (including Iñigo Errejón and Juan Carlos Monedero, his collaborators in the alternative TV debate shows La Tuerka and Fort Apache) have quickly hegemonised the Podemos apparatus, particularly after several IA members were sacked as full-timers and La Tuerka supporters gained control of the Podemos Citizens’ Assembly organising committee, introducing on-line slate voting that strongly benefited Iglesias.
The La Tuerka grouping has several ideological influences. Iglesias and Errejón —Podemos’s bright young chief strategist — played a leading role in activist movements (such as the Spanish version of the autonomist Tute Bianche movement in the anti-globalisation protests at the beginning of the noughties, and Juventud Sin Futuro (Youth Without Future) — one of the groups that helped initiate the 15-M protests. At the same time Monedero and Iglesias have been members of Communist organisations and advised Izquierda Unida. All three have worked as political advisors to new Left governments in Venezuela and Bolivia. Errejón did his PhD thesis on Bolivia’s MAS party and is an admirer of “neo-Gramscian” vice-president García Linera. Monedero has had a relationship with chavismo, but was lambasted by Chávez for organising conferences of intellectuals analysing the shortcomings of the Bolivarian revolution. He is known in Spain for his thesis that the failure of Spanish democracy stems from the dominance of the “Transition” process by sections of the Francoist apparatus — an idea used to justify the strategic centrality given by leading Podemos members (including its most radical) to holding a Constituent Assembly. (This historical revision has been criticised by Xavier Domènech as being too instrumental and “top down”, and as downplaying the structural contradictions common to all liberal capitalisms).
Read more at: http://left-flank.org/2014/11/14/understanding-podemos-23-radical-populism/
6 comments
6 responses to “Understanding Podemos (2/3): Radical populism”
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An interesting article. For anyone interested in trying to get to grips politically with the “Podemos phenomenum” there is also a much longer, but well worth reading, article on the current Workers Power newspaper website, entitled, “Can Podemos be won to class politics?”
By Christian Gebhardt.
I’m not usually thought of as a big fan of The Workers Power group, but I thoroughly recommend this article for its clear socialist perspective – as against the rather over-optimistic view that many on the radical Left seem to have invested in the impressive, but actually very woolly reformist social democratic populist, Podemos, mass movement.
The underlying reason for the rapid rise of many European political groupings, including Podemos, is the fundamental failure of the capitalist European vision known as the EU. At least, unlike UKIP, the Golden Dawn, the FN, the Lega Nord etc, Podemos is not on the extreme right. It is still not clear, though, that they’ve got the right understanding of the extent of the problem facing the Spanish working classes.
The lack of leadership and initiative among the European left has allowed the extreme right to garner electoral support that the left could easily have enjoyed had it not been so keen to play along with such economic nonsenses as the Stability and Growth Pact and its associated fiscal rules: ie the neo-liberal hegemony and redistribution of income from poor to rich – people, regions and nations.
In part, this is because the Left is a heavily intellectual movement dominated by people who have money, security, nice housing and enjoy the ‘better’ things in life – meaning they have little contact with the seething masses in the streets and suburbs who are the targets and victims of the policy austerity regimes that the EU and Eurozone has imposed.
The Labour Party is making that mistake in the UK, it would be a pity if Left Unity did likewise.
The European Left, even Podemos to a large extent, are pro-Euro and pro EU simply because the Right is anti-euro and anti EU. How does that work? The left is scared and confused is the only rational explanation. It really doesn’t matter what the Right think about the EU! It is quite possible to be right for the wrong reasons and its time the European left recognised that possibility.
The left are so lacking in leadership and self-confidence that they do not think a fully articulated progressive social policy with an anti-euro and ant EU stance could be differentiated from the racist nonsense that the European quasi fascists push out.
Since the passing of Tony Benn we no longer hear the sensible voice of opposition to the EU. The left have confused support for Europe with support for the EU. The EU is a neo-liberal, anti-working class, anti-democratic and pro-capitalist organisation and the sooner we realise that the better.
I think the issue in Britain is that we are at the forefront of neoliberalism and austerity – in fact the EU learns from our ruling class how to do it. EU imposed austerity is in a sense quite limited. In fact when it comes to parts of the country like Cornwall there is a lot of money still coming in from the EU that is offsetting some of the cuts from local and central government.
You are right to highlight some of the problems with the EU – but I am generally of the opinion that Syriza’s position of refounding the EU on a socialist basis is a better way to go than a straight exit
Peter I agree with you.People in Left Unity seem to think that being anti E.U is being anti European, I honestly can,t see us changing the E.U. from within,The cards are stacked against us. In fact I would go as far as to say. If we honestly believe we can change the E.U.from within. Why don,t we all join the Labour Party. I it would be an easier task
Well it looks like Podemos is retreating from a left point of view and are not prepared to take on the capitalist system. What do you think of that?
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/28/us-spain-podemos-idUSKCN0JC1OC20141128
From the years I spent in Spain recently following Pablo Iglesias, a long time before the official formation of Podemos, I think what should be understood is that, although there is a degree of verticallity in its structure, policies are determined by an open system that allows participation on a large scale. Echenique was critical of the final voting system that, in his opinion, favoured Iglesias, but he has been very clear that it is still transparent and democratic and he is still active within Podemos. You can’t talk about Podemos in the same way as a typical traditional political party because the policies have the potential to be created as much from the bases as from the founding members (there is no fee or required political ideology to be a ‘member’ apart from abiding by the ethical code, again, voted by the bases). Although its policies are clearly to the left it is not a “left wing party”. There are many traditionally right wing voters who now support and debate in Podemos. It is not a “working class party” as that kind of exclusive branding is exactly what they wished to avoid from the offset. It can’t be called populist or demogogical as all it calls for is a participative democracy to replace the corrupt bipartisan self serving regime. The “populism” comes largely from the 15M movement but if the tone has softened it is to avoid the issues that Syriza will face according to an article in this website, if it wins the possible general elections. I think they are being a little bit more strategic. If you go around shouting that you are going to nationalise everything you are quite blatantly declaring economic war, one that will be hard to win. It’s economic policies regarding the national debt (assessing the legitmacy of some of it that was acrued illegaly and restructuring the rest) have been aplauded by writers in the Financial Times and other measures they wish to take to finance their social policies (fighting corruption and tax evasion amongst others) have been supported by the Spanish Inland Revenue Service. Regarding nationalisation, Since the 90s when the energy sector was privatised to supposedly improve the service and consumer costs, the energy prices have gone up exponentially and subsequent governments started to pay the energy oligopoly to maintain prices at a reasonable level. This subsidy is, coincidentally, similar to the oligopoly’s profits I believe. Under the Spanish Constitution, governments are allowed to nationalise vital sectors of the economy if they are found to be working against the interests of the people and country, which is clearly the case with regards to the energy oligopoly. I have quite a mixed background and Podemos hit the nail on the head for me by explicitly rejecting the self labelling and clearly exclusive attitudes of many left wing parties. Tolstoy was hardly prolatarian but supported the revolution and was prepared to give up his inherited land, if I am not mistaken. I would support a political movement that wishes to create a fairer, sustainable and (really) democratic society but, as a student and future ‘middle-class’ person I feel quite marginalised by a lot of traditional socialist rhetoric. I hope for a future in which class distinction isn’t apparent and technology and the need for sustainability reduce the necessity for ‘work’ (in the 45 hours a week to maintain a materialist consumer society sense) altogether. Jimmy Haddow – taking on the capitalist system? On their own? Right now? Bob Walker – I agree that the EU as it stands is rubbish – an antidemocratic neoliberal nightmare with a quite bizarre foreign policy – I mean sanctioning Russia? After we supported a Russiaphobic coup d’etat? I’m going to buy some thermals because it’s going to get very cold!
Good luck.