CUP’s grassroots movement and its decisive power in pro-independence votes

A grass-roots political party with the force to change presidents or back them. Far-left pro-independence Candidatura d'Unitat Popular (Popular Unity Candidacy), also known as CUP, hopes to remain a key player in the pro-independence bloc in the Catalan Parliament after the May 12 election.

CUP is the only party in the chamber with a new face as its main candidate. Laia Estrada was a councilor in the southern city of Tarragona from 2015 until 2021 when she was elected a Member of Parliament for Tarragona.

In a break from political tradition, Estrada has been named CUP's candidate for the Catalan election, despite not having been the spokesperson or having a leader's role in the party.

She has been vocal against large construction projects and backs pro-environmental policies, reflected in CUP's slogan for the May 12 vote: 'Defensem la Terra' (Let's defend our grassroots, soil, and society).

"We are here [based in the territory], CUP is here; we are the best guarantee, and it is important to vote for CUP if we want to stop ceding all of our policies to the wishes of Madrid, the Spanish government, or the rich, because all these parties go hand in hand," Estrada said during an election campaign speech in Tarragona.

Pro-independence against airport expansion

Since its foundation, CUP has been vocal in favor of an independent Catalonia. It even has an 'Estalada' pro-independence flag on its logo. CUP has been crucial during historic political moments in recent years, such as blocking center-right Convergència i Unió candidate Artur Mas' presidential bid, which saw Carles Puigdemont elected in 2016.

More recently, after the 2021 election, when 52% of voters backed pro-independence political parties, CUP backed Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya's candidate Pere Aragonès as the president.

Since then, the party has also been vocal about some of the major events in Catalan society, such as the debate to expand Barcelona airport, cruise ships docking in the Catalan capital, or building highways, with a clear position against all of them.

Another major project that contributed to the failure of the Catalan budget was constructing the Hard Rock casino complex next to PortAventura amusement park in the seaside towns of Salou and Vila-Seca.

CUP's number two candidate in the campaign, Laure Vega, said it was "terrible" that the Catalan government renewed its support for the casino complex without saying anything publicly.

"There are a lot of people" against these "constant macro projects," Vega said during an interview with Spanish public broadcaster RTVE.

Estrada has also come out against Hard Rock and the Tarragona chemical plant.

While CUP is against macro projects, it wants to "dethrone climate change deniers and promote a new path for Catalonia." Among its policies, it backs those promoting grassroots feminism to fight those against women's equality. 

However, their main focus is on public schools and the public healthcare system, including promoting the Catalan language, retracting the economic cuts made during the financial crisis, offering free kindergarten schools, and stopping mental and emotional health from being taboo.

"Voting for CUP is essential to defend a quality public health system for everyone, that can treat all medical needs," Laia Estrada, CUP presidential candidate, said.

"If we want a quality, public, and Catalan schooling system, and if we want to protect the Catalan language in schools and everywhere, if we want to guarantee that housing is a right rather than a privilege as it currently is, we need to vote for CUP," Estrada added.

Coalition government or opposition

"We have to talk now about the policies that need to be implemented in Catalonia at this moment," Laia Estrada said after Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez announced after a period of reflection that he would continue leading the cabinet.

For the CUP candidate, the future of Catalonia has to be decided within Catalonia, and that is why they have been vocal in making sure that the campaign focuses on policies for Catalans rather than reacting to Spanish politics.

Polls in general show CUP are set to remain a small but key player in the pro-independence field. However, there is a lot of variation from one poll to another.

Some say CUP could lose seats in the Catalan Parliament, ending up with between 4 and 9 MPs, most likely slightly below its current 9 representatives. 

However, if the pro-independence parties have a majority in the chamber, CUP will still be crucial to backing a coalition government. One of their main requests, however, is for the leading party to incorporate CUP's agenda into its own, as this would be the only way the far-left party would be part of a Catalan government.

So far, in past elections, CUP has voted in favor or against certain presidential bids but has never been part of an executive.