The mayor-elect of Maipú, Tomás Vodanovic (RD) referred to the differences between the Broad Front and the Communist Party, a conglomerate with which they formed a coalition that led them to win several mayoralties and that will see on July 18 the FA candidate, Gabriel Boric, face the PC Daniel Jadue in presidential primaries.
“I think there are differences and we can have many. Not only with the Communist Party, as within the Broad Front or also within the Democratic Revolution. And I believe that a mistake of the left has been to constantly be looking for and reaffirming those differences, instead of putting common goals first,” he told El Mostrador in La Clave.
“It is important that we also do this exercise beyond the Broad Front. Of course, there are common coincidences and programmatic bases with a broader and larger spectrum (…). In these differences we have to be able to show transparency and citizenship so that they can say which one summons them, but then push the project into unity. I want to make this introduction, because many times we are looking for what the difference is, the differentiating wedge,” he added.
Having made that introduction, Vodanovic elaborated on the differences, which “have been evident. Not only because of the history of our conglomerate, because of the ideological differences, they are widely known, because of the position we have been taking between different contingencies marked by the national political events in recent months. In other words, the Broad Front’s position on the agreement with the new Constitution was different from that of the Communist Party. The openness to dialogue that we have also had with other sectors has been different. The willingness to go to primaries with other sectors has also been different. And I believe that we in the Broad Front continue to bet on the construction of broader alliances, where the social democratic world has an important place for the process of transformations that we have to continue forward”.
“Many times the Communist Party or other actors within the Broad Front have had a bet more linked to building a majority only towards social movements or sectors of the left. And I believe that I will have strategic differences to achieve a common goal, which is to build a more just society, with guaranteed social rights and with criteria of territorial justice,” the mayor-elect added.
“So, of course, there is a difference in identity, ideology and ways of reading and and political action. But I think that beyond the fact that campaigns are the time to define contrast so that people can choose between the different alternatives, I always prefer to put the elements in common in debate, because I believe that these are the ones that allow you to build necessary majorities. This is what we did in Maipú. I did not win the mayor’s office only from the Democratic Revolution or the Broad Front. We built a very broad alliance that also brought together social movements and sectors of the former New Majority. And without this exercise of putting common goals first, today we would be a totally different reality, perhaps with Cathy Barriga in the municipality,” he added.
As for ideological differences, Vodanovic said that “the Communist Party is an ideological project with Marxist-Leninist roots. We don’t, because we believe and are very much inspired by democratic socialism.” But these kinds of differences, according to the community leader, “are transparent.”
“Everyone knows what the chosen principles of the Communist Party and the Broad Front are. I don’t think I’m adding anything new to the discussion. Obviously there are differences and we have different political readings about different historical processes, about different regional processes, and these differences are always going to be on the table and are part of the identity of each political project. What I insist and forgive me for being so insistent on this, but I believe that beyond the legitimate differences that bring diversity to the political project, I always prefer to focus on common elements, because unfortunately I think that sometimes it falls into, because I want to make a difference, generate certain political fissures and enter into tones of conversation that I believe do not contribute to the collective construction. We are facing each other at the national level and at the territorial level,you are different. On the one hand, at the national level we are facing a primary that must lead us to mark a contrast, but already at the local level I am building a municipal project of unity of the opposition that manages to summon the different worlds to build a common project, “he stressed.
“Although I have a position, obviously in the primary my candidate is Gabriel Boric, because I believe that the project headed by Gabriel can better connect with the needs and demands of the citizenry, today my focus is to build a broad alliance of opposition in Maipú to achieve a municipal management that improves the quality and the neighbors” Closed.
Listen to the interview with Tomás Vodanovic at El Mostrador in La Clave:
With the “guitar in hand”
Vodanovic in the conversation said that the Broad Front has gained nothing after the elections of May 15 and 16, since the real struggle begins now, with the “guitar in hand”.
“I believe that the Broad Front has not yet gained anything. We have nothing to celebrate because the only thing we gain, as you say, is the opportunity to show, now with the guitar in hand, how well we played, in the background. We have to be able to deal with complex realities that are going to require the best political and technical capacity to be able to take out municipalities that are very damaged. Not only Maipú, also Viña del Mar. And I believe, and without exaggeration, that the political future of the Broad Front is at stake in our municipal efforts, because that is where we are going to show how well or how badly we are capable of governing. I think this is proof of good for us and congratulations on us. I think at some point this more challenging and challenging role was going to fly and we had to start proving it,” he said.
“I believe that a strategic mistake of the Broad Front was to have begun its political cycle from parliament to the forefront of a parliamentary presidential election and not from the municipalities and municipal councils,” he said.
“For the future of the Broad Front, what we do in these communes can give us light on the country project that we propose to Chile and I hope that Gabriel will of course do very well. I believe that he has had a campaign that has been excellent, proposing ideas, contributing to the public debate with professional, technical and territorial cadres who have been at the service of a collective project, which I believe can do very well for Chile. But of course, we have not yet had the opportunity to demonstrate in concrete terms what this project is about, beyond the speeches or the things that we have been able to propose at the most abstract level. But I am convinced that the work we have been doing in many communes and the preparation they have been having these years will allow us to generate municipal efforts that show that things can be done differently, “he concluded.
