Asens, Sanz and Tarafa agree on the importance of Bcomú as a political space
Former Minister of Culture and Deputy Mayor of Culture in Barcelona between June 2019 and July 2021, Joan Subirats, recalled the victory of former mayor and Bcomú candidate, Ada Colau, in the municipal elections of May 24, 2015, 10 years ago: «She won from outside the system.»
Subirats, a promoter in June 2014 of the precursor platform of Bcomú with Colau and lawyer Jaume Asens, explained in statements to Europa Press that their objective was not to appear in the municipal elections, but to be a point of a union of people from different social movements.
However, Bcomú obtained more than 176,000 votes in May 2015 and 11 councilors, one more than the mayor of the city, Xavier Trias (CIU); And it was the first force in 6 of the ten districts, winning in those where the PSC had traditionally been the first political force.
The former councilor recalled that the first months in the municipal government were marked by «distrust», as Bcomú was a party with no experience in institutional politics that was placed in front of an administration like the City Council of Barcelona.
Jaume Asens
Asens remembered the presentation to society of the candidacy with Subirats and Colau, whom he defined as the visible face of the project, and recalled the first electoral campaign: «They loved us silent, obedient, and with crossed arms. That we would accept the cuts, corruption, and their impotent degraded democracy.»
He told Europa Press that, in his opinion, they knew how to capture the Fedness of Catalan Society and valued that Colau demonstrated her virtues at the helm of the city council, «Prudence, sense of time, audacity, passion, communication skills, and willingness to make risky decisions.»
Gemmama was the father
Bcomú councilor and current coordinator of the communities, Gemma Tarafa, stated in statements to Europa Press that Colau’s governments raised issues that had been «invisible» until then, such as housing and the reorganization of urban space, and lamented that the current mayor, Jaume Collboni, is dismantling part of the policies they promoted.
Asked about Colau’s new role as president of the Sentit Comú Foundation, linked to The Commons, Tarafa said that the former mayor has not abandoned the party and remains an asset, pointing out that the political space must «adapt and resist» to references to Catalonia on issues such as housing, mobility, and public services.
Janet Sanz
The current leader of Bcomú, Janet Sanz, highlighted in statements to Europa Press that the arrival of the party to the mayor’s office was a radical change for Barcelona and accused Colau’s predecessor, former mayor Xavier Trias (CIU), of putting the city «up for sale in a very blatant way.»
Regarding the future of the municipal group, which will hold its congress in July under the slogan «Let’s Repeat Barcelona,» she said that one of Bcomú’s virtues is that it goes beyond names and that the «brand of the house» is precisely Colau’s legacy, whom she describes as a brave woman.
Transition to Mayor
Colau began her first term in 2015 in a coalition with the PSC, although she ended up governing as a minority after breaking with the socialists in 2017 due to their support for the application of Article 155 of the Constitution in Catalonia after the 1-O referendum.
Bcomú managed to retain the Mayor’s Office in 2019 despite being in second place in the municipal elections, and Colau returned as mayor ahead of the winner, Ernest Maragall (ERC), thanks to the support of Barcelona Pel Canvi, a candidacy led by former French minister Manuel Valls and the PSC, which returned to the coalition with the latter.
In the last municipal elections in 2023, BCOMU dropped to third place and Colau left the mayor’s office after 8 years in favor of socialist Jaume Collboni, remaining in the City Council until the end of 2024, when she stepped down as councilor and coordinator of the commons, a party she led since its creation in 2017.
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