Deputy Mayor of Alicante, Mari Carmen Sanchez; Provincial deputy for Valencia Juan Córdoba and provincial deputy for Alicante Javier Gutierrez are three public officials linked to Ciudadanos who signed a manifesto promoted by party critics calling for the immediate resignation of the party’s executive committee led by Inés Arrimadas. Critics gathered in the Somos Cs movement want an extraordinary assembly so members can decide a new direction and a new political strategy, arguing that Arrimadas has abdicated the street and wandered far from the core truths.
Sánchez and Gutiérrez’s backing of the manifesto illustrates how large the faction remains even at a difficult moment. In the Valencian Community, Ciudadanos has run in coalition with the PP in both the Alicante City Council and the Provincial Council. In the Alicante municipal group, besides the vice mayor, councilors María Conejero and Antonio Joaquín Manresa are among the signatories, bringing the tally to three of the five councilors in the group.
The party’s internal strife is evident from a June purge that dismissed the provincial coordinator César Martínez and Chechu Herrerro, state secretaries of Institutional Action and Organization, along with Javier Gutiérrez, respectively. Shortly after, precautionary suspensions were imposed on Gutiérrez, responsible for Infrastructure and Aid to Municipalities and a councilor for Urban Planning in Xixona. The dissolution of the party also prompted the resignation of senior positions in the national youth wing, including Natalia Sanchiz from Alicante.
We are the Cs, a movement born of party loyalty, backed by Citizen members, public officials, and组织, aiming to convene an extraordinary General Assembly where members can freely decide on a new strategy and leadership. Sergio García, the current deputy spokesperson of the Asturias parliamentary group; Javier Gutiérrez, deputy state for Alicante; Ilde Ruiz, Jaén’s deputy state; Mar Hormigo, former Andalusian senator and former organizational secretary; Mari Carmen Sánchez, deputy mayor of Alicante; Susana Fernández, spokesperson for the Asturias Parliamentary Group; and Juan Córdoba, deputy state for Valencia are among the signatories and supporters listed. The Somos Cs group notes that many others across Spain are ready to join and sign, inviting anyone who wants to help restore the project to participate.
The Somos Cs manifesto centers on the party’s history, its founding principles, and the values said to define Ciudadanos. It also critiques the direction taken in recent years under Inés Arrimadas and her leadership, explaining why organizers chose to come forward. They say more members and affiliates will join from across Spain, and they invite anyone willing to contribute to step up, participate, and sign the manifesto, with the aim of saving the project.
Evident
The manifesto recalls that Ciudadanos emerged in 2006 to defend constitutional values at risk in Catalonia. The movement grew under Albert Rivera, expanding beyond Catalonia as voices elsewhere called for a national political leap. In 2013, Ciudadanos moved into national politics via Movimiento Ciudadano, described as an initiative that excited thousands and sought to transform discontent into hope and action. The text states that Spain faced economic and institutional challenges, and a commitment was made to strengthen civic values such as freedom, equality, unity and solidarity, launching initiatives seen as necessary for change. Many felt hopeful at the moment they joined Ciudadanos.
Nearly nine years after that hopeful call, the issues facing Spain are described as persistent, if not worsened. The manifesto argues that solutions once promised by Ciudadanos were abandoned by the current leadership, and that since Arrimadas and her team assumed control, defense of the party’s core principles has weakened. The document criticizes ongoing alignment with the Pedro Sánchez government and with Podemos in various legislatures and local governments as evidence of drift away from the party’s early mission, implying that the original spark has faded.
For Somos Cs, strategic missteps and a lack of self-criticism have permeated leadership. The report highlights electoral declines and member departures as indicators of the party’s decline, noting defeats in polls that predict Ciudadanos could fall below 2 percent in votes, signaling a serious threat to its relevance.
two souls
There are two currents inside Ciudadanos, the manifesto contends. One is the group of people who joined with high ideals and who fought hard to build the project under leadership like Albert Rivera. The other includes voices that focus on poll results, pushing for certain positions and titles, and creating distance from grassroots activists. Critics say this second faction uses the party as a shield for its own crisis and avoids engaging with communities daily. The text argues that it is time to empower local branches to decide the reorganization through an extraordinary general meeting.
According to the manifesto, the core problem is not the logo, color, or membership numbers or even former leaders who stepped away years ago. It is the people who ran the party in recent years, who placed personal and financial interests above the broader good and national interests. Signatories demand the immediate resignation of the Executive Committee and the calling of an extraordinary assembly so members can chart a new direction and strategy without further excuses. As municipal and district elections approach, supporters argue the leadership keeps buying time, risking a late response when it may already be too late.
The movement closes by reaffirming loyalty to Ciudadanos and recognizing a faction that believes in the party’s core values of freedom, equality, unity and solidarity. The message is clear: those who want to revive Ciudadanos must act now, with urgency and collective effort, to steer the project back toward its founding ideals and practical governance for communities across Spain.