NATIONAL PARTY VOTING INTENTION If the election were held today, which party would you support? % of registered New Alexandrian voters Margin of error: ±2.3% Survey conducted 12.I.1751AN
GOVERNMENT APPROVAL Do you approve or disapprove of the job the Montero government is doing? % of registered New Alexandrian voters Margin of error: ±2.3% Survey conducted 12.I.1751AN
Response
Percentage
Change Since X.1750
Approve
41.0%
▼ -2.5%
Disapprove
46.5%
▲ +3.0%
No Opinion
12.5%
▼ -0.5%
Net Approval
▼ -5.5%
▼ -5.5%
Direction of the Federation
DIRECTION OF THE FEDERATION Do you think the Federation is headed in the right direction or the wrong direction? % of registered New Alexandrian voters Margin of error: ±2.3% Survey conducted 12.I.1751AN
The DSP National Executive Committee set the National Convention for 15.IV.1751AN in Parap, where delegates will select a new leader through the party's regional primary system. Acting Party Chair Isabella Moreno, who has led the party administratively since Vásquez's departure, announced the timeline at a press conference in Cárdenas.
"For one year, this party has been without permanent leadership," Moreno said. "Our 236 Deputies deserve a leader they elected. Our members deserve a voice. The progressive movement deserves clarity about who speaks for it."
The announcement comes as the DSP faces its most serious crisis since the party's founding. Vásquez remains in Aerlan exile, named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Pact of Shadows scandal. Former Deputy Leader Carlos Mendoza is serving a 14-year prison sentence for his role in the conspiracy. The party's polling has declined from a post-election high of 24.8% to approximately 19%, with the Civic Governance Alliance actively recruiting disaffected members.
Martinez, 47, announced her candidacy hours after the National Executive's decision. The former teacher and education policy expert held a press conference in her home city of Santander, where she directly addressed the party's need to move beyond the Vásquez era.
"I will not pretend that what happened didn't happen," Martinez said. "Our former leader fled rather than face justice. Our former deputy leader was convicted of conspiracy to defraud the Federation. These are facts. They are painful facts. But denial will not rebuild this party."
Martinez was the first DSP Deputy to publicly criticize Vásquez's flight, telling reporters in I.1750AN that "running makes her look guilty and destroys whatever credibility our party had left." That statement earned her the enmity of Vásquez loyalists but positioned her as the voice of the party's pragmatic wing.
Her platform emphasizes what she calls "accountable progressivism." She proposes refocusing the party on education, healthcare, and working-class economic concerns while acknowledging the security and governance failures that led to the 1749 election results.
"We won 236 seats because New Alexandrians wanted change," Martinez said. "They trusted us. Then they watched our leaders plan to steal billions while calling them sheep. We have to earn that trust back, and we cannot do it by pretending the betrayal never occurred."
The leadership contest will follow the party's revised primary system, adopted in 1734AN and expanded for the 1745 election. Candidates must secure nominations from at least 20% of sitting DSP Deputies, which translates to 48 of the current 236. Regional primaries will award delegates proportionally, with candidates needing 15% support in each region to receive delegates.
The primary calendar begins with Alduria on 25.II.1751AN and concludes with the Federal Capital District on 11.IV.1751AN. Three nationally televised debates will be held during the campaign. The final selection at the Parap convention will use a weighted system: 60% for regional primary delegates, 20% for sitting DSP Deputies, and 20% for affiliated trade union representatives.
Party sources expect at least three additional candidates to enter the race before the nomination deadline on 15.II.1751AN. Deputy Leila Bensouda of Alduria, who finished third in the 1744-45 contest, is widely expected to run on a civil liberties platform. Deputy Tomas Quispe of the Wechua Nation, the youngest of the likely candidates at 39, has been meeting with environmental and indigenous rights groups.
The most contentious question is whether Vásquez loyalists will field a candidate. Sources within the party's Valencia chapter confirmed that supporters who believe Vásquez was politically persecuted are organizing to contest the election. Deputy Ricardo Ortega of Valencia has emerged as a potential standard-bearer for this faction.
"There are people in this party who think Martina was railroaded," said one DSP Deputy who requested anonymity. "They're not going to let Sofia Martinez waltz into the leadership pretending she didn't stab her in the back."
Martinez dismissed the characterization. "I didn't stab anyone. I told the truth when others were silent. If that's disqualifying, then this party has bigger problems than I can solve."
Former Deputy Leader Carlos Dominguez, who finished second in the 1745 election with 43.1% of convention delegates, is being closely watched. He has not indicated whether he will seek the leadership again. His endorsement could prove decisive given his strong support among trade unions and in the Wechua Nation.
The leadership vacuum has created opportunities for the Civic Governance Alliance, which has actively courted moderate DSP members since its founding in I.1750AN. CGA Coordinator Elena Svensson has made public overtures to "reform-minded progressives" frustrated with the DSP's direction. At least three DSP Deputies have held private meetings with CGA officials, according to sources familiar with the discussions.
"Every day we go without real leadership, we lose people," said one DSP strategist. "The CGA offers clean governance without the baggage. If we elect someone who wants to relitigate the Vásquez prosecution, we'll lose a dozen Deputies by summer."
WPP sources indicated their party would remain neutral in the DSP contest but expressed concern about a loyalist victory. "If the DSP elects someone who thinks Vásquez did nothing wrong, that's a problem for the whole coalition," one WPP official said.
Financial markets showed no significant reaction to the announcement. Political analysts suggested the leadership election's outcome matters less to investors than the FHP-CGA coalition's stability.
"The DSP is the largest opposition party, but they're not close to governing," said Santiago Morales of Best Practices, Inc.. "What matters for markets is whether Montero's coalition holds. The DSP leadership race is about who leads the opposition, not who leads the country."
Martinez concluded her announcement with an appeal to party unity, though her message contained an implicit challenge to potential loyalist candidates.
"I'm not asking anyone to forget their beliefs or abandon their friends," she said. "I'm asking them to choose between the past and the future. Martina Vásquez is not coming back. Carlos Mendoza is not coming back. The question is whether the Democratic Socialist Party comes back, or whether we let it die defending people who betrayed everything we stood for."
The nomination period runs through 15.II.1751AN. The first regional primary is scheduled for 25.II.1751AN in Alduria.
▸ OOC: Story Summary & Impact Assessment
TL;DR: DSP finally announces leadership election after one year without permanent leadership following Vásquez's flight. Sofia Martinez declares first, calling for clean break from scandal. Convention set for 15.IV.1751 in Parap. Expected candidates include Bensouda (civil liberties), Quispe (environment/youth), and potentially Ortega (Vásquez loyalist). Dominguez declines to run but becomes kingmaker. Party polling down from 24.8% to 19% while CGA rises to 21%.
DSP ANNOUNCES LEADERSHIP ELECTION AS MARTINEZ DECLARES CANDIDACY
