# 12th Federal Assembly of United Left (Spain)

The 12th Federal Assembly of United Left was held in Madrid from 26 March to 27 March 2021, to renovate the governing bodies of the United Left (IU) and establish the party's main lines of action and strategy for the next leadership term. The federal assembly was initially scheduled for July 2020, but it was postponed as a result of COVID-19 pandemic.
The congress was held following the November 2019 Spanish general election when the alliance managed to enter the government for the first time since the Second Republic. The incumbent general coordinator and Minister of Consumer Affairs Alberto Garzón was reelected for a second term with 76.3% of the vote, thus defeating the candidacy of José Antonio García Rubio; who was supported by former leading figures of IU against the alliance with Podemos and got 20.8% of the vote.
The approved political document called for a bigger integration of IU within the Unidas Podemos alliance, eventually leading to an organizational convergence with Podemos. However, these plans were halted by the establishment of the Sumar platform led by Yolanda Díaz, former member of IU, ahead of the 2023 Spanish general election.

## Candidates

| Candidate | Age | Notable positions | Announced | Eliminated | Campaign | Ref. |
| Elected ||||||||
| Candidate elected as general coordinator. ||||||||
| Alberto Garzón | 35 | Minister of Consumer Affairs (since 2020) General Coordinator of United Left (since 2016) Deputy in the Cortes Generales for Málaga and Madrid (since 2011) | 18 February 2021 | Y Elected | (avanzandohacialarepublica.org) | |
| Proclaimed ||||||||
| Candidates who met the endorsement requirement and were officially proclaimed to contest the primary election. |||||||
| José Antonio García Rubio | 72 | Federal Secretary of Economy and Employment of IU (2012–2020) | 24 October 2020 | 22 March 2021 | (La Izquierda Necesaria) | [7] [8] |

## Endorsements
### Total

Candidates seeking to run were required to collect the endorsements of at least 2% of the total party members (≈361 endorsements).
Summary of candidate endorsement results :
| Candidate | Candidate | Endorsements | Endorsements | Endorsements |
| Candidate | Candidate | Count | % T | % V |
| | Alberto Garzón | ≈2,208 | 12.24 | 76.19 |
| | José Antonio García Rubio | ≈690 | 3.82 | 23.81 |
| Total | Total | 2,898 | | |
| Valid endorsements | Valid endorsements | 2,898 | 16.07 | |
| Not endorsing | Not endorsing | 15,138 | 83.93 | |
| Total members | Total members | 18,036 | | |
| Sources |||||
Endorsements by party members
Garzón
76.19%
García Rubio
23.81% :

### Public endorsements
#### Alberto Garzón

* José Luis Centella, President of the Communist Party of Spain (since 2018), Former Secretary-General of the Communist Party of Spain (2009–2017), Member of the Congress of Deputies for Málaga and Seville (1993–2004 and 2011–2015)
* Antonio Maíllo, Former General Coordinator of United Left/The Greens–Assembly for Andalusia (2013–2019), Member of the Parliament of Andalusia for Cádiz (2015–2019)
* Inmaculada Nieto, Spokesperson of the Forward Andalusia Group in the Parliament of Andalusia (since 2019), Former Member of the Parliament of Andalusia for Seville (since 2012)
* Rosa Pérez, Regional Participation, Transparency, Cooperation and Democratic Quality of the Valencian Community (since 2019), General Coordinator of United Left of the Valencian Country (since 2018), Member of the Corts Valencianes for Valencia (since 2019)
* Sira Rego, Member of the European Parliament for Spain (since 2019), Former Deputy Mayor of Rivas-Vaciamadrid (2015–2019), Former City Councillor of Rivas-Vaciamadrid (2015–2019)
* Enrique Santiago, Secretary-General of the Communist Party of Spain (since 2018), Member of the Congress of Deputies for Madrid (since 2019), Former Secretary-General of the Communist Youth Union of Spain (1990–1993)

#### José Antonio García Rubio

* Lidia Falcón, President of the Feminist Party of Spain (since 1983)
* Francisco Guarido, Mayor of Zamora (since 2015), City Councillor of Zamora (since 1999)
* Cayo Lara, General Coordinator of United Left (2008–2016), Member of the Congress of Deputies for Madrid (2011–2016)
* José Luis Pérez Tapias, Mayor of Fuenteheridos (since 2019)

## Results

Summary of the 15–27 March 2021 IU assembly results :
| Candidate | Candidate | Primary | Primary | Assembly | Assembly |
| Candidate | Candidate | Votes | % | Votes | % |
| | Alberto Garzón | 5,694 | 76.26 | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | José Antonio García Rubio | 1,553 | 20.80 | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Blank ballots | Blank ballots | 220 | 2.94 | — | — |
| Total | Total | 7,467 | | — | — |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 7,467 | 100.00 | — | — |
| Invalid votes | Invalid votes | 0 | 0.00 | — | — |
| Votes cast / turnout | Votes cast / turnout | 7,467 | 41.40 | — | — |
| Abstentions | Abstentions | 10,569 | 58.60 | — | — |
| Registered voters | Registered voters | 18,036 | | 560 | |
| Sources ||||||
Vote by party members
Garzón
76.26%
García Rubio
20.80%
Blank ballots
2.94% :

### By region

| Region | Electorate | Turnout | Alberto Garzón | Alberto Garzón | José Antonio García Rubio | José Antonio García Rubio |
| Region | Electorate | Turnout | Votes | % | Votes | % |
| Andalusia | 5,404 | 46.21 | 2,162 | 86.58 | 290 | 11.61 |
| Aragon | 779 | 24.65 | 167 | 86.98 | 22 | 11.46 |
| Asturias | 1,910 | 48.22 | 432 | 46.91 | 388 | 42.13 |
| Balearic Islands | 210 | 17.14 | 27 | 75.00 | 7 | 19.44 |
| Basque Country | 320 | 50.94 | 146 | 89.57 | 15 | 9.20 |
| Canary Islands | 254 | 31.89 | 46 | 56.79 | 34 | 41.98 |
| Cantabria | 153 | 39.22 | 47 | 78.33 | 13 | 21.67 |
| Castile and León | 1,034 | 47.49 | 313 | 63.75 | 171 | 34.83 |
| Castilla–La Mancha | 1,016 | 40.55 | 310 | 75.24 | 95 | 23.06 |
| Catalonia | 763 | 34.60 | 237 | 89.77 | 26 | 9.85 |
| Ceuta | 8 | 25.00 | 2 | 100.00 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Extremadura | 478 | 33.68 | 118 | 73.29 | 34 | 21.12 |
| Galicia | 591 | 26.23 | 113 | 72.90 | 30 | 19.35 |
| La Rioja | 114 | 63.16 | 42 | 58.33 | 30 | 41.67 |
| Madrid | 1,834 | 38.99 | 643 | 89.93 | 55 | 7.69 |
| Melilla | 1 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Murcia | 599 | 31.05 | 155 | 83.33 | 25 | 13.44 |
| Navarre | 288 | 41.32 | 81 | 68.07 | 36 | 30.25 |
| Valencian Community | 2,226 | 40.84 | 629 | 69.20 | 275 | 30.25 |
| Exterior | 54 | 57.41 | 24 | 77.42 | 7 | 22.58 |
| Total | 18,036 | 41.40 | 5,694 | 76.26 | 1,553 | 20.80 |