The leadership of Podemos Asturias has expelled the former general secretary and former parliamentary spokesman Daniel Ripa after opening a file on him for allegedly “damaging the party’s image for more than a year through public demonstrations.” Now they ask him to leave the act of deputy since he is not a member of Podemos. In addition, the guarantees commission has also expelled the founding member and former parliamentarian Andrés Fernández Vilanova and suspended Jorge Fernández, who was going to be number four on the electoral list, a position that will now be held by the acting coordinator, Rafael Palacios, who He was in charge of announcing the disciplinary measures. To round out the loop, while their expulsions were announced, those affected demonstrated in front of the Podemos headquarters in Oviedo to demand an assembly. “We can Asturias is kidnapped”, they cried.
Daniel Ripa has already said that he will not deliver his minutes and that he will continue as one of the four parliamentarians of the formation in Asturias because he plans to appeal the decision. “I will do what I have to do”, when the decision is firm, he has said. And he has added: “I am not here to have charges or any personal interest.”
The expulsion and the files are one more step in the internal battle in which the purple formation has been living since the elections for the general secretariat that the deputy of Congress Sofía Castañón won, now on leave, but who from that moment on were denounced by him until then head of the party in the region, Ripa, of “rigged”.
Since then the accusations of party sabotage have been mutual and constant. The situation led to the resignation of the organization secretary, Alba González last January “for personal reasons.” Since that date, the regional coordinator Sofía Castañón has also been on leave.
From the leadership, which is occupied on an interim basis by deputy Rafael Palacios, they believe that now the party “will be able to focus on other issues and stop appearing every day in the media talking about its internal struggles. No more hoaxes and systematic attacks”.
This leadership assures that it has been trying for weeks to sit down to negotiate the May electoral campaign with the candidate of the formation in Asturias, Covadonga Tomé, supported by those now on file and that it has been impossible.
They believe that it is about benefiting the current coordinator, since by leaving out the now suspended from militancy and who was in number four, this position will be occupied by Rafael Palacios.
He regrets that the tensions are staged publicly. Those affected attended the press conference at the party headquarters in Oviedo to publicize the file, accompanied by about twenty supporters, who did not stop rebuking their interventions and who carried banners where you could read “We can Asturias is kidnapped” , “Rafa Palacios is not a coordinator because nobody chose you!” or “Palacios and Taboada resign, the only one who laughs is Barbón!”. This support from the militancy is precisely what they have claimed from the outset, that they have won all the internal votes.
Daniel Ripa has asked that a meeting of the parliamentary group be called to address this matter and that a citizens’ assembly be held so that the militants decide on this issue.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
