The campaign caravan of José Ignacio García, the candidate of Adelante Andalucía, has started in a van to the rhythm of the Granada flamenco pop group La Plazuela. He himself has announced it on his social networks, on the way to Málaga, the city where the Andalusian party has marked the beginning of two intense weeks, in which they seek to materialize in votes the advance to more than double the deputies that the polls give them for this May 17. “Against the useful or useless vote, we feel that a fresh, new, Andalusian, feminist left is needed,” urged the spokesperson of the left-wing formation.
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In Adelante, the formation founded by Teresa Rodríguez in 2021 as the Andalusian split from Podemos, they take great pride in using ingenuity to make up for the economic and representational muscle that the other parties have. So the start of their campaign has played exactly with that idea. That the supporters of the formation were summoned late in the afternoon under the bridge that crosses the Guadalmedina river at the height of the Málaga Museum of Contemporary Art already gave slight clues about what was going to happen shortly after, when the party unfolded a large banner, as a twist on the classic poster posting. “Adelante, vote what you feel,” read the poster, in a phrase that will be the campaign slogan.
From the podium, José Ignacio García expanded on that idea by opposing “those who talk about the useful vote,” to appeal to “feelings and emotions.” The candidate referred to those sensations generated by not getting a medical appointment on time, “not being able to pay the mortgage or rent” or the lack of resources in education, the three pillars around which the party intends to base its campaign. “We feel that someone is needed to stand up to those who steal our rights, that those people who stand up, who tell the truth, who never sell out, are needed,” added the spokesperson, in a brief speech in which Luis Rodrigo and Cristina Fernández, numbers one and two on the lists for Málaga, also spoke. “There are those who think these elections are won without going out to play, that this is a rehearsal for the general elections. They are wrong, Andalusia is the most important,” emphasized the candidate.
García and his team are clear about where their discourse has resonated: in the range from first-time voters aged 18 to millennials, precisely the generation to which the 38-year-old candidate belongs. That has been the target of much of their four years in opposition, characterized by their attempts to amplify the barely two parliamentarians they had with harsh speeches against the popular Juanma Moreno, full of concrete examples and impactful moments that they have later managed to viralize on social networks. It has also been the target audience of these weeks of pre-campaign, where Adelante remains strong in its social media strategy — the candidate does live sessions every Monday on Instagram to answer questions — and concrete proposals.
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With these foundations, the different polls paint a similar scenario for Adelante: going from two parliamentarians to five or six. In the best-case scenario, they would surpass Por Andalucía, the left-wing coalition of Podemos and Sumar, in voters. Although the sum of PSOE, Adelante, and Por Andalucía does not seem sufficient in the polls to govern, confirming those results would be a victory for a formation that carries Andalusianism and anti-capitalism as its banner, while claiming “the joy” of being left-wing and their lack of “baggage,” as they are an independent party without state representation. The party’s idea is to continue on that path in these 15 days with a “fun and polarizing” campaign, as explained by the formation.
But the party also knows what the main obstacles they will have to overcome in these two weeks are. One of their obstacles was outlined by the latest Centra poll (the Andalusian CIS) pointing out that only 15% of respondents know García. Also, that the party, born in Cádiz, is much better known in western Andalusia than in the east. The formation takes for granted the parliamentarians in Cádiz — where the candidate, who is from Jerez, is running — and Sevilla — where they already had another deputy — and Málaga, where they now also consider it feasible. “We start in Málaga, besides the possibility of gaining representation, because it is a perfect example of the ideological laboratory of the PP with full touristification and its economic model,” explain sources from the formation.
“We are going to travel all over Andalusia, with joy and courage. From Ayamonte to Pulpí, from Tarifa to Cazorla,” García explained in his speech. “We want to break the idea that we are only from Cádiz and Sevilla,” add the party. So efforts are now focused on the provinces of Jaén, Granada, or Córdoba, precisely the places where García will be between tomorrow Friday and Saturday. The idea is to break, as García has already advanced and the campaign slogan itself states, the idea of the useful vote. “We want to continue in the line of good vibes and joy. That if people feel discomfort and see hope, they appeal to Adelante,” conclude the formation. They have two weeks for this, the election count will say if they succeed.
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