Return to politics

Mónica Oltra took the first step back into frontline politics on Saturday, when Compromís ratified her as its candidate for mayor of Valencia at an extraordinary assembly in the Jardín Botánico. The venue was symbolic: it was here in 2015 that the agreement was sealed which opened the Botànic government era. Oltra, who stepped down as vice-president of the Generalitat in 2022, told the assembly that four years of absence had allowed her to observe and reflect on the advance of right-wing and far-right frameworks.

“With all of you united we can. I want to be the mayor of the government that loves Valencia.”

Housing as a right

Oltra devoted a large part of her speech to housing, which she said had ceased to be a right and become a luxury item. She argued that the city cannot be inhabited without decent housing for people who live there 365 days a year, not just four. She called it a democratic anomaly that those who build homes cannot afford to buy them, and set the availability of land for affordable housing as a priority.

“The city cannot be designed like a Monopoly. Urbanism must put the economy at the service of productive activity, not speculation.”

She said urbanism should act like a scalpel to cut the wings of speculation by the most powerful, and that the car cannot be the master of the city. If cities need to be cooled, private spaces must also contribute.

Unity and internal debate

Oltra proposed a common, neutral space built on Compromís but going beyond it, to include neighbours and individuals, not just a sum of party logos. She asked the coalition for generosity. The proposal has met resistance from the more nationalist wing of Compromís, led by Joan Baldoví, who recently said that more than overflowing the acronyms, the important thing is to overflow the ballot boxes.

“More than overflowing the acronyms, the important thing is to overflow the ballot boxes.”

A recent poll using CIS data suggests Compromís could overtake the PSPV in regional elections without any additions, reinforcing the scepticism of Baldoví's Més Compromís.

Left-wing support

Esquerra Unida, Podemos, Sumar and Esquerra Republicana del País Valencià all sent representatives to the assembly and spoke in favour of unity. Rosa Pérez of EU said it was time to overflow the sum to overflow the ballot boxes. Adrián Navalon of Podemos pledged to stand beside Oltra. The combined vote of these parties in the last municipal elections barely reached 10,000, down from over 16,000 in 2019 and nearly 20,000 in 2015.

201520,000

201916,000

202310,000

2015

20000 votes

2019

16000 votes

2023

10000 votes

Data from the article text

Legal shadow

Oltra remains under investigation for the alleged cover-up of sexual abuse committed by her ex-husband against a minor in care between late 2016 and 2017. She is awaiting trial along with a dozen former colleagues from the social inclusion department she headed. Compromís considers the case a form of lawfare instigated by the far right. Oltra did not directly address the proceedings in her speech, but her return was framed as a fight against the idea that the triumph of the right is inevitable.