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Left Movement ( ca, Moviment d'Esquerres, MES) is a
social-democratic Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote s ...
, pro-independence political party in Catalonia. The party was founded in November 2014 from the merger of New Catalan Left (NECat) and Catalonia Movement (Moviment Catalunya), which had both been formed by dissident members of the Socialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC) who were dissatisfied with what they saw as the party's lack of support for the independence movement. Its founders included
Marina Geli Marina Geli i Fàbrega (born 12 September 1958, Sant Gregori) was the health minister of the Generalitat de Catalunya from 2003 to 2010. She is considered one of the most prominent members of the Catalanist wing of the Socialists' Party of Ca ...
(Moviment Catalunya) and
Ernest Maragall Ernest Maragall i Mira (born 5 January 1943, in Barcelona) is a Spanish economist, politician, member of the Parliament of Catalonia and former Minister of Foreign Action, Institutional Relations and Transparency of Catalonia. He was previously ...
(NECat), but both have ever since left for other parties—Geli joined the Together for Catalonia alliance ahead of the 2017 Catalan regional election, whereas Maragall defected to
Republican Left of Catalonia The Republican Left of Catalonia ( ca, Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, ERC; ; generically branded as ) is a pro-Catalan independence, social-democratic political party in the Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia, with a presence also in ...
(ERC) in 2018.


History

The party had its roots in the severe internal crisis affecting the Socialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC) following its defeat in the
2010 Catalan regional election The 2010 Catalan regional election was held on Sunday, 28 November 2010, to elect the 9th Parliament of the autonomous community of Catalonia. All 135 seats in the Parliament were up for election. This was the first election held in Catalonia a ...
and the rise in support for
Catalan independence The Catalan independence movement ( ca, independentisme català; Spanish: ''independentismo catalán'') is a social and political movement (with roots in Catalan nationalism) which seeks the independence of Catalonia from Spain. The beginni ...
following the 11 September 2012 demonstration. On 15 December 2012, former regional minister and
Pasqual Maragall Pasqual Maragall i Mira (; born 13 January 1941) is a Spanish politician and former President of Generalitat de Catalunya. He had previously been Mayor of Barcelona, from 1982 to 1997, and helped run the city's successful Olympic bid. Early l ...
's brother
Ernest Maragall Ernest Maragall i Mira (born 5 January 1943, in Barcelona) is a Spanish economist, politician, member of the Parliament of Catalonia and former Minister of Foreign Action, Institutional Relations and Transparency of Catalonia. He was previously ...
, who had left the PSC in October, announced his New Catalan Left (NECat) party, aiming to re-organize the Socialist space in Catalonia with
Republican Left of Catalonia The Republican Left of Catalonia ( ca, Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, ERC; ; generically branded as ) is a pro-Catalan independence, social-democratic political party in the Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia, with a presence also in ...
(ERC),
Initiative for Catalonia Greens Initiative for Catalonia Greens ( ca, Iniciativa per Catalunya Verds, ICV; ) was an eco-socialist political party in Catalonia. It was formed as a merger of Iniciativa per Catalunya and Els Verds. IC had been an alliance led by Partit Socialis ...
(ICV), the
Popular Unity Candidacy The Popular Unity Candidacy ( ca, Candidatura d'Unitat Popular, , CUP) is a left-wing to far-left pro- Catalan independence political party active primarily in Catalonia, where it has political representation, but also in other autonomous communit ...
(CUP) and dissidents from the PSC. In June 2014, the PSC's internal current Avancem, which had been established in May 2012 and was led by deputy in the
Parliament of Catalonia The Parliament of Catalonia ( ca, Parlament de Catalunya, ; es, Parlamento de Cataluña; oc, Parlament de Catalonha) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain ...
Joan Ignasi Elena Joan Ignasi Elena i Garcia (born 27 June 1968) is a Spanish lawyer and politician from Catalonia, former member of the Parliament of Catalonia and the current Minister of the Interior of Catalonia. Early life Elena was born on 27 June 1968 in ...
, split from its mother party and allied with NECat. In July 2014, Catalonia Movement (Moviment Catalunya), a party supported by PSC members
Montserrat Tura Montserrat Tura (born 6 November 1954) is a Spanish politician and Member of the Parliament of Catalonia. From 29 November 2006 to 29 December 2010, she had served as Minister of Justice of Catalonia. She is considered one of the most prominent ...
,
Marina Geli Marina Geli i Fàbrega (born 12 September 1958, Sant Gregori) was the health minister of the Generalitat de Catalunya from 2003 to 2010. She is considered one of the most prominent members of the Catalanist wing of the Socialists' Party of Ca ...
and
Antoni Castells Antoni Castells i Oliveres (; born September 24, 1950) is a Spanish politician. He is considered one of the most prominent members of the Catalanist wing of the Socialists' Party of Catalonia. Castells is married and has two children. He lives in ...
, among others, was established with the goal of fielding candidates in the
2015 Spanish local elections The 2015 Spanish local elections were held on Sunday, 24 May 2015, to elect all 67,515 councillors in the 8,122 municipalities of Spain and all 1,040 seats in 38 provincial deputations. The elections were held simultaneously with regional elec ...
that supported Catalanism and pro-independence stances. The three parties entered talks in August 2014 to discuss their merging into a new political party, with all three sharing their political action in the ensuing months, such as their presence in the 2014 "V" Catalan Way or their joint public response to the 2014 Catalan self-determination referendum. As merger discussions continued, Avancem dropped out on 12 November, citing political disagreements with Moviment despite a "total agreement" existing with NECat. An agreement between NECat and Moviment was reached on 20 November, and ten days later both parties would officialize their merger into the newly-established "Left Movement" (MES). MES would run in the upcoming 24 May 2015 local elections, signing electoral alliances with ERC in 45 municipalities, with ICV in 4 and running on its own in a further 15. The party secured a total of 106 councillors, of which 37 came from the municipalities where it ran on its own and the remaining ones from its electoral agreements with ERC and ICV. On 26 June 2015, Magda Casamitjana was appointed as new MES president. Under her leadership, the party, which had considered joining the
electoral coalition An electoral alliance (also known as a bipartisan electoral agreement, electoral pact, electoral agreement, electoral coalition or electoral bloc) is an association of political parties or individuals that exists solely to stand in elections. E ...
being negotiated by Podemos and ICV, ultimately brought itself into the
Junts pel Sí Junts pel Sí (; en, "Together for Yes", sometimes translated as "Together for the Yes"; JxSí) was a Catalan electoral, political and parliamentary alliance focused on achieving the independence of Catalonia from Spain. Established ahead of ...
pro-independence alliance with ERC and
Democratic Convergence of Catalonia The Democratic Convergence of Catalonia ( ca, Convergència Democràtica de Catalunya; , CDC), frequently shortened as Convergence ( ca, Convergència; ) was a Catalan nationalist, liberal political party in Catalonia (Spain), currently still exi ...
(CDC) ahead of the 2015 Catalan regional election. On 9 July 2016, Alfons Palacios replaced Casamitjana as party leader, and since 2017 it has been part of the
Republican Left of Catalonia–Catalonia Yes Republican Left of Catalonia–Catalonia Yes ( ca, Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya–Catalunya Sí, ERC–CatSí) is a Catalan pro-independence electoral alliance. The alliance is formed by Republican Left of Catalonia, Catalonia Yes and ind ...
alliance.


Electoral performance


Parliament of Catalonia


Notes


References

{{Catalan nationalism Left-wing nationalist parties Political parties in Catalonia Socialist parties in Catalonia