United Left ( , IU) is a federative political movement in Spain that was first organized as a coalition in 1986, bringing together several left-wing political organizations, grouped primarily around the Communist Party of Spain.

IU was founded as an electoral coalition of seven parties, but the Communist Party of Spain (PCE) is the only remaining integrated member of the IU at the national level. Despite that, IU brings together other regional parties, political organizations, and independents. It currently takes the form of a permanent federation of parties.

IU took part in the Unidas Podemos coalition and the corresponding parliamentary group in the Congreso de los Diputados between 2016 and 2023. Since January 2020, it participated for the first time in a national coalition government, with one minister. For the 2023 general election, IU took part in the Sumar platform.

History

Following the electoral failure of the PCE in the 1982 general election (going from 10% to 4% of the votes), PCE leaders believed that the PCE alone could no longer effectively challenge the electoral hegemony of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) on the left. With this premise, the PCE began developing closer relations with other left-wing groups, with the vision of forming a broad left coalition. IU slowly improved its results, reaching 9% in 1989 (1,800,000 votes) and nearly 11% in 1996 (2,600,000 votes). The founding organizations were: Communist Party of Spain, Progressive Federation, Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain, PASOC, Carlist Party, Humanist Party, Unitarian Candidacy of Workers, and Republican Left.

In contrast to the PCE prior to the formation of IU, which pursued a more moderate political course, the new IU adopted a more radical strategy and ideology of confrontation against the PSOE.Topaloff, L (2012) Political Parties and Euroscepticism, pp192-193 IU generally opposed cooperating with the PSOE, and identified it as a "right-wing party", no different from the People's Party (PP).

After achieving poor results in the 1999 local and European elections, IU decided to adopt a more conciliatory attitude towards the PSOE, and agreed to sign an electoral pact with the PSOE for the upcoming general election in 2000. They also adopted a universal policy in favor of cooperating with the PSOE at the local level.

IU currently has around 18,000 members, a decrease from 70,000 in 2012.Entre coalición y partido, la evolución de modelo organizativo en IU, Luis Ramiro

Organization Composition and members PartyNotesCommunist Party of Spain (PCE)La Aurora Marxist Organization (La Aurora (OM))Not a political party. Joined in 1998Republican Left (IR)Left in 2002, rejoined in 2011Unitarian Candidacy of Workers (CUT)Left in 2015, rejoined in 2018Former members Feminist Party of Spain (PFE)Joined in October 2015, expelled in February 2020 due to its stances on transgender rights.Humanist Party (PH)April–July 1986Carlist Party (PC)Expelled in 1987Progressive Federation (FP)Left in December 1987, due to being dissolved.Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain (PCPE)Left in 1988Socialist Action Party (PASOC)Dissolved in 2001.Red Current (CR)Joined in 2002, left in 2004Anti-capitalists (IA)Joined in 1995, left in 2008Coalition for Melilla (CpM)Joined in 2008, left in 2013Open Left (IzAb)Joined in 2012, dissolved in 2018.

Communist Party of Spain (PCE)

In 1986, the PCE promoted United Left (IU) and participated with other political forces in its foundation, first constituted as an electoral coalition and later as a federation of parties. At the 13th Congress of the PCE it was decided to transfer its sovereignty to the bodies of IU, with its secretary-general Gerardo Iglesias also becoming the first general coordinator of the new coalition.

Under the leadership of the then secretary-general of the PCE, Julio Anguita, IU achieved the best results in its history, but health problems forced him to step down from the leadership. In 2008, the PCE regained leadership of the coalition with the election of Cayo Lara as general coordinator, with the objective of the Refoundation of the Left.

Republican Left

It was part of United Left (IU) from its creation in 1986, participating actively in the coalition until 2002, when it broke away due to disagreements with the leadership of Gaspar Llamazares.

On 19 June 2010, part of its membership decided to participate in the process of Refoundation of the Left promoted by the new leadership of Cayo Lara, and on 6 February 2011, the party's return to United Left and the participation of its members in the coalition lists was confirmed, although the sector opposed to this integration split off to create Republican Alternative.

Communist Youth Union of Spain (UJCE)

At the 3rd IU Assembly in March 1992, the Communist Youth Union of Spain (UJCE), the youth organization of the PCE, was recognized as a political organization affiliated with IU, independent from the PCE. At that assembly it opposed the idea of constituting IU as a conventional political party, defending the theses of the PCE leadership, headed by Julio Anguita, of moving from the phase of coalition to that of a political and social movement.

At the 9th Federal Assembly of IU they supported the list headed by Cayo Lara, which won a majority, and he was elected coordinator. In this way the process of Refoundation of the Left began and four UJCE members became part of IU's federal political council.

La Aurora (OM)

La Aurora (OM) was founded in 1974 as the Revolutionary Workers' Party of Spain (PORE) and joined United Left in 1998. In 2005 it created the Redes current within IU."IU pledges that none of its parties will support other forces." Público, 9 November 2012. Its section in Catalonia, the most active, is integrated into EUiA through the Bastida current, while in the Basque Country it was integrated into Ezker Batua-Berdeak through Sarea/Redes (although part of the POR left the coalition in 2011 to call for a vote for Amaiur through the Erabaki collective)."The Erabaki collective of EB will call for a vote for 'Amaiur' in elections and calls for the unity of 'the entire Basque left'." Europa Press, 1 October 2011. In 2013 it changed its name to that of its publication, La Aurora.

Ecosocialists of the Region of Murcia On 15 November 2010, the Regional Political Council of IU in Murcia unanimously approved the incorporation of a new political organization, Ecosocialists of the Region of Murcia, made up of people outside the left-wing coalition and independent members of it, and established with the objective, according to its statutes, of working in coordination with United Left to "transform society on the basis of the principles of social ecology, participatory democracy, and socialism"."IU integrates the formation Ecosocialists of the Region of Murcia into its political and social project." 20 minutos, 15 November 2010.

Initiative for El Hierro On 23 December 2010, United Left met in El Hierro with representatives of the leadership of Initiative for El Hierro, where the political agreement reached by both political formations was finalized. The agreement, ratified by the general assembly of Initiative for El Hierro, meant the recognition of this political force as the sole reference of United Left in El Hierro, maintaining its own political identity and decision-making capacity. Both sides maintain that the agreement reached aims to go beyond a simple electoral alliance and enable the process of reorganization of the entire transformative and alternative Canarian left."The Left unites in El Hierro." Initiative for El Hierro, 24 December 2010.

Broad Front of Madrid Broad Front was constituted in 2013 as an internal current of IUCM, but in 2015 they announced their constitution as a political party within IU. After the defederation of IUCM, Broad Front of Madrid joined as a constituent party of the new Madrid federation of IU.

Federal coordinators Name PeriodGerardo Iglesias1986–1989Julio Anguita1989–1999Francisco Frutos1999–2001Gaspar Llamazares2001–2008Cayo Lara 2008–2016Alberto Garzón2016–2023Antonio Maíllo2024–present

Territorial federations Andalusia: Izquierda Unida Los Verdes - Convocatoría por Andalucía (United Left/The Greens - Assembly for Andalusia) Aragon: Izquierda Unida Aragón (United Left of Aragon) Asturias: Izquierda Xunida de Asturies (United Left of Asturias) Balearic Islands: Esquerra Unida de les Illes Balears (United Left of the Balearic Islands) Canary Islands: Izquierda Unida Canaria (Canarian United Left) Cantabria: Izquierda Unida de Cantabria (Cantabrian United Left) Castilla-La Mancha: Izquierda Unida de Castilla-La Mancha (United Left of Castilla-La Mancha) Catalonia: Esquerra Unida Catalunya (United Left Catalonia, Founded in July 2019; suspended in June 2019 Esquerra Unida i Alternativa)Following the tradition of the Spanish left since the formation of the Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia (PSUC) in 1936 (when communists and socialists joined forces in Catalunya), IU doesn't have any organization of its own in Catalonia. Until 1998, the referent of IU in Catalonia was Initiative for Catalonia (Iniciativa per Catalunya, now known as IC-V). But IC eventually broke relations with IU. A split in PSUC followed, and a new Catalan alliance, United and Alternative Left (Esquerra Unida i Alternativa, EUiA), was formed as the new Catalan referent of IU. Castilla y León: Izquierda Unida de Castilla y León (United Left of Castile and León) Ceuta: Izquierda Unida de Ceuta (United Left of Ceuta) Euskadi: Izquierda Unida - Los Verdes: Ezker Anitza (United Left - The Greens: Plural Left) Extremadura: Izquierda Unida Extremadura (United Left Extremadura) Galicia: Esquerda Unida (United Left of Galicia) La Rioja: Izquierda Unida La Rioja (United Left-La Rioja) Madrid: Izquierda Unida-Madrid (United Left-Madrid).IU rompe "a todos los efectos" con su federación madrileña. El Diario, 14/06/2015 - 10:48h. Aitor Rivero. Izquierda Unida de la Comunidad de Madrid (United Left of the Community of Madrid) was expelled in 2015. The new federation, IU-M, was created in 2016.La militancia de IU Madrid elige a Mauricio Valiente y Chus Alonso al frente de la nueva formación. Público, 03/05/2016. Melilla: Izquierda Unida - Federación de Melilla (United Left - Melilla Federation) Murcia: (United Left - Greens of the Region of Murcia) Navarra: Izquierda Unida de Navarra - Nafarroako Ezker Batua (United Left of Navarra) Valencian Community: Esquerra Unida del País Valencià (United Left of the Valencian Country)

Electoral performance Cortes Generales

Cortes Generales Election Leading candidate Congress Senate Votes % Seats Votes % Seats 1986 Gerardo Iglesias 935,504 4.6 (#5) 2,583,230 4.7 (#5) 1989 Julio Anguita 1,858,588 9.1 (#3) 4,866,930 8.8 (#3) 1993 2,253,722 9.6 (#3) 6,172,255 9.5 (#3) 1996 2,639,774 10.5 (#3) 6,851,023 10.0 (#3) 2000 Francisco Frutos 1,263,043 5.4 (#3) 4,752,113 7.7 (#3) 2004 Gaspar Llamazares 1,284,081 5.0 (#3) 2,857,366 4.1 (#4) 2008 969,946 3.8 (#3) 2,015,249 2.9 (#5) 2011 Cayo Lara Within Plural Left Within Plural Left 2015 Alberto Garzón Within Popular Unity Within Popular Unity — 2016 Pablo Iglesias Within Unidos Podemos Within Unidos Podemos Apr. 2019 Within Unidas Podemos Within Unidas Podemos — Nov. 2019 Within Unidas Podemos Within Unidas Podemos 2023 Yolanda Díaz Within Sumar Within Sumar

European Parliament European Parliament Election Leading candidate Votes % Seats EP Group 1987 Fernando Pérez Royo 1,011,830 5.3 (#4) COM 1989 961,742 6.1 (#4) COM (EUL) 1994 Alonso Puerta 2,497,671 13.4 (#3) EUL 1999 1,221,566 5.8 (#3) GUE/NGL 2004 Willy Meyer 643,136 4.1 (#4) 2009 Within The Left 2014 Within Plural Left 2019 María Eugenia Rodríguez Palop Within UPCE 2024 Estrella Galán Within Sumar —

Notes

References

External links

Izquierda Unida Los Verdes – Convocatoría por Andalucía Izquierda Unida Aragón