Aliança Catalana has recently named Eduard Rel Cartoixa, a former official of the Socialist Party of Catalonia (PSC), as its mayoral candidate for Tortosa, in the Baix Ebre region.
Mr Rel has a notable history within the local PSC, having served as vice-first secretary of the party in Tortosa and as a member of the executive committee led by former mayor Joan Sabaté. He was also listed as number 7 on the socialist ballot for the 2011 municipal elections.
During his time with the PSC, the party presented Mr Rel as a young leader from the neighbourhood movement, aligned with the socialist project and distinct from the independence movement. Beyond local politics, he was a substitute candidate, number 6, for the PSC in the 2010 Catalan Parliament elections for the Tarragona constituency, according to official lists.
Rel's Professional and Political Shift
Mr Rel holds a diploma in social education and works as a training coordinating technician at the Centre de Formació Terres de l’Ebre, which focuses on occupational and continuous training. In his community involvement, he previously served as president of the Ferreries Sant Vicent Neighbourhood Association and vice-secretary of the Tortosa Federation of Neighbourhood Associations.
His social media activity primarily features party content, with a particular emphasis on defending the primary sector, criticising inadequate infrastructure, and promoting the "security" and "national identity" discourse characteristic of Aliança Catalana.
This move signifies a considerable political realignment for Mr Rel, transitioning from a leadership role in the PSC, a non-independence party with ties to the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), to becoming a candidate for Aliança Catalana, a far-right, anti-immigration, and ultra-nationalist Catalan formation.
