Cuerva and De Miguel face off in the final clash in the most tense Cepyme elections.
There are three issues at stake today in the votes that will bring a conclusion to the tense elections for the presidency of Cepyme, the employers' association for small and medium-sized businesses. The first is the most obvious: deciding who will be the new leader of this organization: whether Gerardo Cuerva from Extremadura will repeat his term, or whether Ángela de Miguel from Valladolid, the candidate supported by Garamendi, will succeed him.
The 505 members will decide, some voting in person, others having delegated their vote; and both candidates are convinced they have the necessary support to win. Cuerva says this even though he abandoned his attempt to prohibit proxy voting, which he saw as a source of potential pressure against his position; and De Miguel is confident of a clear victory, especially given the explicit support of major organizations.
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In the development of the campaign, two very conflicting directions have emerged. While Cuerva promotes a SME with greater autonomy and a stronger voice, less dependent on the CEOE (General Executive Committee), Angela de Miguel calls for greater efficiency and more discussion of the real problems of SMEs.
The second issue at stake is the impact this result will have on the employers' association as a whole, and more specifically on its eldest brother, the CEOE itself. Its president, Antonio Garamendi, has played hardball in this election. He asked Cuerva to withdraw, and when that failed, he sought out and supported a rival candidate. The game has been played since January, and the clashes have been repeated with virulence.
Therefore, the election is also a test for Garamendi. A plebiscite, some say. Furthermore, with a hypothetical Cuerva winning, the next question would be whether he would run in next year's CEOE elections. Garamendi prepared the groundwork for running long ago when he overturned the employers' association's ban on a third term.
Read also Gerardo Cuerva: "I don't believe in a SME subjugated to the CEOE" Jaume Masdeu
And finally, there is a third element that could be affected by today's result: the relationship with the government. Cuerva has long strived to distinguish himself with tough stances against Pedro Sánchez's administration, as evidenced in last summer's manifesto. Furthermore, he is flirting with the support of the president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, who was responsible for presenting his candidacy. Thus, a victory for the current president could further fuel the already high level of conflict between the employers' association and the government, and especially with Yolanda Díaz.
In the interviews conducted by "La Vanguardia" with the two candidates, the contrast was evident. Where De Miguel stated that "the CEOE doesn't rule over SMEs, nor will it, but unity is what gives us strength," Cuerva echoed the same sentiment, but with an emphasis on the other extreme. "I don't believe in SMEs subservient to the CEOE," he asserted.
All this in a tense atmosphere that has worried business leaders, who see how so much internal bickering leaves the way open for competing organizations, such as the Catalan Pimec (Mexican Workers' Commissions) and the Spanish Conpymes (Mexican Workers' Commissions). However, each side blames the other for creating these tensions and favoring rivals.
The results will be announced today, starting at 2:00 PM, when the tally of the 505 votes cast has been counted. These votes are distributed among 56 regional and 91 sectoral organizations in a highly fragmented manner.
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