The Unidad del Pueblo Canario (UPC) presented itself on Thursday as the voice of the Canarian «working classes» in the Spanish Parliament, assuring that it would represent them «with all the determination, strength and knowledge of what the Canary Islands need«.
A few hours before the start of the election campaign, during a poster-putting event in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the UPC candidates for the Congress of Deputies and the Senate highlighted the significance of having secured a single ballot paper within the left-wing bloc for this election, and stated that they would run a campaign featuring «a great many proposals» to address the problems facing the archipelago.
The UPC’s lead candidate for the Congress of Deputies in Las Palmas, Luis Campos (NC), has pointed out that on 29 November, the Canary Islands have «a great deal» at stake: having «a voice of their own, a firm voice in defence of the working classes», and the ability to make decisions from within the Canary Islands themselves, rather than having them dictated by someone «more than 2,000 kilometres from here».
Canary Islands: UPC focuses on housing and social rights
Campos has emphasised that the UPC will represent the people of the islands and the working classes «like no one else, with all the determination, strength and, moreover, the understanding of what the Canary Islands need», and has asked them to place their trust in the party.
Because, he added, if they are elected to Congress, they will defend «the rights won so far, but also continue to make progress, particularly on housing».
But also because, in his view, they will act as a «bulwark» to ensure that «the far right does not, under any circumstances, come to power in Spain».
Left-wing alliance with Podemos calls for a fair election campaign
Regarding the achievement of a united front on the left in the Canary Islands, including Podemos, the UPC’s second candidate for the Congress of Deputies for Las Palmas, Iratxe Serrano, who is herself a member of that party, has emphasised that this unity is what has been called for not only by society at large, but also by the members of the purple party themselves.
«I think we have all been able to stop navel-gazing and show the humility needed to reach this agreement, this common ground. So now it’s time to take to the streets» to ask for people’s support, she said.
An election campaign that she has promised will be «clean, honest and highly transparent», in which she has advocated canvassing for votes «without boycotting, without sabotaging, without resorting to insults, but through dialogue», as advocated by the coalition.
Gran Canaria: UPC emphasises the importance of the Senate
Finally, the Senate candidate for Gran Canaria, Ana Gloria Sánchez, expressed her hope that, during these two weeks of campaigning, the UPC would be able to «convey all this enthusiasm and all the interesting proposals» they are putting forward to ensure «that the voices of the Canary Islands are heard in Madrid, in the Congress of Deputies and in the Senate too».
An Upper House where, she argued, «some important decisions are taken», which is why she wished to highlight the importance of the Senate and, consequently, the importance «of ensuring that the right decisions are taken» as a sufficient majority emerges to drive through changes that will make it «more effective».
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