Undeniable victory of Pedro Sánchez in the region of Javier Fernández, the president of the managing association, with almost a thousand votes and fourteen points ahead of Susana Díaz. The former secretary general of the PSOE consolidated his triumph in the primary in Asturias with comfortable advantages in the groupings of Gijón, Oviedo, Siero and Cuencas, where the support of the SOMA mining union was expressed in the ballot boxes. The Andalusian president only won in Avilés, repeating the trend that had already advanced the collection of guarantees among the more than eight thousand members with voting rights in Asturias.
The figures reveal a resounding support in Asturias to Pedro Sánchez, with 3,578 votes, while Susana Díaz received 2,654 and Patxi López, 467. In addition, there were 26 blank and 3 null votes. Participation was around 82 percent, with about 6,700 of the 8,249 members who had the option to vote. The support received by Pedro Sánchez in the Principality is above the national average, since in the Asturian groupings added 53.4 percent of the votes, three points above the state count. Susana Díaz practically equaled her national result in the region, where she obtained 39,6 of the votes. Patxi López was supported by almost seven percent of the Asturian socialists, three points less than in the whole of Spain.
The storm that fell last night over the region was small compared to the beating that the bases of the party gave to the Asturian Socialist Federation. The ballot boxes ratified "the excitement" held by the "pedrista" sector throughout Asturias in the primary campaign. On the day of the delivery of the guarantees, Adriana Lastra, the campaign chief, was confident on the victory in Asturias. Pedro Sánchez won yesterday by almost 200 votes in Gijón, by almost 80 in Oviedo, and by more than a hundred ballots in traditional areas of the Asturian socialism as they are the groupings of Las Cuencas Mineras of Langreo, San Martín del Rey Aurelio and Laviana. In Mieres, affiliates from Siero also opted in a majority way for Pedro Sánchez, who had 145 votes more than his main rival in the fourth municipality.
The former secretary general tipped the scales as the scrutiny progressed, because Susana Díaz only won for half a hundred supports in the grouping of Avilés; by three dozen votes in Carreño, where the mayor, Amelia Fernández, had been the coordinator of the support group for the Andalusian president, and by a dozen votes in Llanes, whose former mayor, Antonio Trevín, now national deputy, showed his support to Díaz. The most generous group, in percentage terms, with the Andalusian turned out to be Tineo, where she made a difference of more than a hundred votes to a Pedro Sánchez who will regain control of the party after his overwhelming victory.
Coup de main
The result in the Asturian Socialist Federation is a coup de main of the "pedrista" sector, which until now was very minority in the regional direction, and had its main supports in municipalities and local groups such as Laviana, with Adrián Barbón and Corvera, with Iván Fernández, among others.
On the other hand, the official sector of the FSA had given a massive support to Susana Díaz. Although Javier Fernández avoided public choice, because of his position as president of the manager association, no one doubted his preferences and the greatest majority of his government aligned with Susana Díaz, except for the regional Minister of Employment, Francisco Blanco. Also the whole Socialist Group in the Junta, with its spokesman Fernando Lastra leading the group, defended the candidacy of the Andalusian leader during the campaign that yesterday was ready for judgment.
The "new party" that Pedro Sánchez promised last night has two milestones ahead to carry out this transformation: the federal congress of June and the autonomic of the FSA, of which the date is still to be decided but scheduled for September or October.
