María Eugenia Rodríguez Palop: «The project of Unidas Podemos and its sister forces is the alternative to Salvini, Macron and Merkel»

"When we talk about feminizing politics, we talk about embodying it in an attitude of life, in a common way of doing things, in resisting authoritarian tendencies and in turning confrontation into a channel of communication," Palop explained this Friday in Madrid.

María Eugenia Rodríguez Palop, candidate of United We can to the European Parliament, defended this Friday May 17 in an act in Madrid that the articulation of the European progressive forces is the only project "with real transformation capacity" in front of those who want to end the European Union or pretend everything remains the same, "putting the interests of the oligarchies ahead of the rights of citizens." The coordination of forces such as Unidas Podemos, La France insoumise and the Bloco de Esquerda is "The alternative to Salvini, who wants to dynamite the EU, and Macron and Merkel, who only want to make small adjustments to survive".

Although many citizens think of the EU with words like "Bureaucracy, technocracy, disaffection and coldness, it is the place from which more can be done to fight for everything that I have worked for all my life: democracy, human rights, women's rights and environmentalism, "Rodriguez Palop explained in a relaxed conversation with Idoia Villanueva, also a candidate for the European Parliament, and the journalist Laura Casielles in the Temple of Debod.

In recent days, Rodríguez Palop has participated in events in Paris (together with Leïla Chaibi, candidate of La France insoumise to the European Parliament) and Coimbra (with Catarina Martins Y Marisa Matias, Coordinator and MEP of the Bloque de Esquerda, respectively). In them, Palop has claimed "the creation of a left-wing political subject that can deal with the extreme right and the extreme rights that are re-emerging in Europe." "We are the guarantee of a more democratic and representative Europe, more egalitarian, where social rights are protected. We are the guarantee of a sustainable Europe, that fights against climate change, and of a feminist and feminized Europe that attends to women not only in the workplace, but also in the care space ".

In that sense, Rodriguez Palop said on Friday the difference between "apply feminist policies and feminize politics." "Feminism must be incarnated, it is not enough to have a feminist discourse, although having it is necessary and positive. Feminist policies can be made by anyone who has common sense: to end the wage gap, for example. But when we talk about feminizing politics, we talk about embodying it in an attitude of life, in a common way of doing things, in resisting authoritarian tendencies and in turning confrontation into a channel of communication ".

For her part, Idoia Villanueva pointed out her leap to European politics: "Either you do politics or others do it for you. Politics is everyday life and that is what you do in your municipality, in your city, in your country, but the policy that is made in those spaces is largely governed by larger structures. " On international alliances, he assured: "Finding ourselves with other forces makes us realize that the problems of citizens are shared: precariousness, inequality … There are peoples and countries willing to fight for a project that puts life at the center. "

Saturday, May 18, 2019