Estrella Galán has been working for almost three decades in the so-called third sector – mainly non-governmental organizations, associations and foundations – as an expert in migration and has also been general director of the Spanish Commission for Refugee Assistance (CEAR). She now she’s the head of the list … Add up for the European elections that will be held next Sunday.
–With 61 MEPs at stake in Spain, how many is a good result for Sumar?
–The good result has to do with having enough impact to stop extreme right-wing policies and austerity. We want enough representation to play the same role that we play in the Spanish Government.
–To stop these policies and play the same role… how many parliamentarians are needed?
–It is not a question of numbers. It is about program, strategy and good proposals.
–The disunity between Podemos and Sumar has been very expensive in Galicia and the Basque Country. What reasons are there to now repeat a scheme that has failed?
–That should be asked of Podemos. There is a wide space on the left and whoever wanted to be there is there. Unfortunately there are other options that they did not want. We consider that in this context going alone does not get us anywhere.
–Does all the responsibility for not going together belong to Podemos?
–It is not about responsibility or blame. It’s about seeing who wanted to be there. We wanted to go with all the forces of the left.
–That the Podemos candidate is Irene Montero, a figure discussed by the law of ‘only yes means yes’, can she mobilize a feminist vote towards you??
–Sumar has a feminist proposal and is also a feminist space with a clear and inclusive model. Each proposal has its nuances.
–Would staying below Podemos be a failure?
–Failure must be measured in other terms. It would be not being able to change the course of policies towards where Europe is going. The great failure would be that the progressive forces did not have sufficient representation in the European Parliament. Only a good result can make even the social democrats look more to the left and not to the popular ones or move closer to the extreme right.
Israel and Palestine
“Yolanda Díaz’s phrase, which does not deny the two States, has been twisted”
–Is the argument of “stopping the extreme right” enough to mobilize voters?
– It is necessary but not sufficient. We must explain how our proposals can improve the daily life of citizens. 70% of the policies approved here are linked to European directives.
–What will be its axes?
–Reaching a European SMI and reducing the working day to 32 hours at a time when expansion bells are ringing. Work for a new green pact and the reduction of emissions to 65%. We have learned about crisis management. The 2008 one was made with cuts. A permanent fund must be guaranteed to alleviate any crisis that arises. Bring the right to abortion and protect the LGTBI community, in addition to asylum and a proposal for peace.
–Your work has been closely linked to migrations.
–The Migration and Asylum Pact has been a great setback in Human Rights and puts Spain in a very delicate situation, as a border country, to receive and expel. It leaves people in a vulnerable situation, making an almost sacred right to asylum disappear.
Relationship with the PSOE
–After differences over the land law, last week Yolanda Díaz accused Sánchez of “lack of loyalty.” Is a Government with this level of fracture sustainable?
–The coalition government must adjust to its roadmap. What cannot be is that we see that the proposals are being altered by other interests. How are we going to approve a land law that returns to the ball. We do not believe that the coalition government is in crisis.
–When one learns in the Press that a billion dollars are approved for Ukraine, does that bring us closer to a breakup?
–We are not thinking, at all, about a breakup but about putting red lines. If something as important as this bellicose measure does not require a conversation with the government partner, something is obviously not working.
–You said that you accepted Sumar’s proposal, among other reasons, to fight for the Palestinian people. Was Díaz’s quote ‘from the river to the sea’, which Hamas uses, a mistake?
–The meaning of that phrase, which is popularly used among all those who support the cause of the Palestinian people and the end of the genocide, has clearly been twisted. In no case does that phrase deny the reality of the two States.
–Sanchez’s final statement is more lukewarm with nods to the “Friendly State” of Israel. Is it enough for you?
–It is not enough for us. More measures are needed. We believe that Sánchez is being lukewarm and we believe that there is a double game in the PSOE. Teresa Ribera says that, from her personal point of view, it is a genocide. We are party candidates and it is not a personal issue. Sánchez does not pronounce that word. There is a ruling from the International Criminal Court. Not speaking out is playing international diplomacy when steps must be taken to stop the genocide and Netanyahu.
– Ask for more measurements. Which is it?
– Call the Israeli ambassador for consultation, break the neighborhood agreements, the sale and transit of weapons and support the trial of Netanyahu for war crimes.
–He maintains that the PSOE is playing “a double game.”
–Yes, it seems that way in this matter and in others. There is also a double game when it is announced that Teresa Ribera is not even going to collect the minutes. It is not honest that a candidacy is made with another intention, such as making a jump to commissioner in Europe. The situation is serious enough to assume this responsibly. The PSOE should clarify it. It doesn’t seem responsible to us.
