The emptied Spain has accepted its first electoral challenge. The early elections in Castilla y León, derived from the breakdown of the PP with its partner Ciudadanos in the Cortes and the call to the polls on February 13, have advanced movements that were already in process. The Soria ¡Ya! Platform, with more than 20 years of activism, accidentally announced its political appearance on the same day that the president, Alfonso Fernández Mañueco (PP), announced his plans. The Soria association gathered this Sunday the almost 800 signatures necessary to present themselves as a constituency of voters, a formula that Teruel Existe used successfully in 2019. This deployment shows that these associations were well aware of the processes they needed to follow since the national grouping of Emptied Spain opened in September to intervene in regional and national elections to make visible the purposes of rural areas.

One of the members of this entity, Vanessa García, pointed out that they have collected more than 2,000 marks in various towns in the province. An evidence of the population scarcity of Soria is that only 16 of the 184 municipalities that compose it, the capital included, exceed 800 inhabitants, according to the INE. García, who has come to San Leonardo de Yagüe (seventh most populated, with 2,042 residents), celebrates that the 1% of the electoral roll necessary to make his candidacy official has been far exceeded.

The illusion of voting

“People encouraged us, they said that they were finally excited to vote. Many who did not want to now want, we are happy with the support of the people, “added Garcia, who thanked her for this warm welcome in the towns that she and her colleagues visited on Sunday morning. Just an hour and a half was enough for Soria ¡Ya! will reap the minimum figure: “It was the first thermometer of the illusion of the Sorians with a very positive result. People keep calling us personally to try to sign, even if it is not necessary, to make their support visible. Is incredible”.

The first polls published in Castilla y León suggest that this group could reap one of the five attorneys that the Soria district sends to Parliament, good news for García but with room for improvement. “Given today’s support, I aspire for there to be two,” Garcia ambitions, who applauds that other platforms in Spain emptied into the community imitate his path.

Burgos Enraíza, from Burgos, confirmed on Wednesday 22 that it would also attend its territory after approving it by 75% of the members of the associations grouped under this future new ballot. This Wednesday 29 is the deadline for other stamps mobilized by depopulation to do the same in more provinces. PP sources have recognized that one of the keys to Mañueco’s advance is trying to stifle the development of these platforms.