These assemblies may have some ideological differences, but their common ground is independence for the Catalan Countries and clear left-wing politics, often in the form of anti-capitalism, socialism, and eco-socialism.

[citation needed] The different local candidatures are coordinated through the Municipal Assembly of the Independentist Left (AMEI in Catalan) where the details regarding their party platform are discussed.

Still, the 2012 CUP program refers to the advantages of multilingualism and encourages debate on the status that an independent Catalonia would grant to French and Spanish.

[24][independent source needed] The CUP criticises the current political system in place in Spain and France, and defend an alternative brand of participative democracy.

Its political programme calls for a "planned economy based on solidarity, aimed towards fulfilling the needs of the people", and defends the nationalisation of public utilities as well as transport and communication networks.

[24][independent source needed] The CUP believes in full civic rights for all inhabitants of the Catalan Countries, including migrants.

[24][independent source needed] In an interview with Jacobin magazine, Boaz Vilallonga described the ideology of the CUP as having a "libertarian socialist and even anarcho-syndicalist character".

[25] The party observes a pay cap, limiting monthly wages for its elected officials to between €1,671 and €1,894 depending on family situation.

On 13 October, the general assembly of the CUP met in Molins de Rei and decided, with 77% in favour, to run for the first time in the 2012 Catalan regional election.

The CUP promised that, if elected, its candidates only would serve one term, earn no more than €1,600 a month, and base their decisions on the opinions expressed by local assemblies.

[38] The CUP managed to win representation in most major cities in Catalonia, including Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, Tarragona, L'Hospitalet and Terrassa.

The coalition was led into the 2015 election by Antonio Baños, journalist and writer, and Anna Gabriel, community worker and professor.

The pro-independence parties held a majority in parliament and the CUP wasn't needed for the Torra Government to win the investiture vote.

It chose to do so because of the "exceptional democratic circumstances, marked by repression and criminalization of independentism and the repeated violation of civil and social rights on the part of the Spanish state".