Alberto Garzón is is the Federal Coordinator of Izquierda Unida, for whom he serves as a member of parliament.
This January, a pact between the Socialists and Unidas Podemos gave Spain its first ruling left-wing coalition since the Civil War. One of two communist ministers, Alberto Garzón, spoke to Jacobin about the government’s survival in these times of crisis — and why the militant right still refuses to accept its legitimacy.
Today Alberto Garzón was sworn in as a minister in Spain’s new government — the first communist to take up such a role since the Civil War. He spoke to Jacobin about what it means to be a communist today and how Spain’s social movements can shape the next government’s agenda.
Izquierda Unida MP Alberto Garzón debates the Catalan independence referendum with the CUP’s Pau Llonch.
Podemos has risen rapidly. But is its populism enough to transform Spanish politics?