Earthquake in the PSOE due to the avalanche of sexual harassment complaints

Madrid"We are the party of women." Amid the earthquake caused by the trickle of alleged sexual harassment cases within the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party), the party's organizational secretary, Rebeca Torró, has reaffirmed the socialists' feminist character at a time when their ability to wave that banner is being questioned most vehemently. She made this statement before learning that the mayor of Belalcázar (Córdoba), Francisco Luis Fernández, had resigned from all his positions following the publication of a case directly implicating him, and that the secretary for equality of the Galician socialists, Silvia Fraga, had also stepped down, criticizing the party's actions in the case of José Tomé Roca in Lugo. Furthermore, on Friday afternoon, it emerged that the PSOE had received two complaints against another official: the party's second-in-command in the province of Valencia and mayor of Almussafes, Toni González, who on Saturday requested the suspension of his party membership and resignation from his party positions, but not from the mayoralty.

Five months ago, allegations against Paco Salazar, a former party leader and former high-ranking official at the Moncloa Palace, came to light, triggering this avalanche of accusations. Since then—and especially in the last two weeks—the crisis has only escalated, with new cases and internal complaints accumulating in just a few days. This Friday afternoon, Torró held a nearly four-hour meeting with the party's equality officials to address the issue. Upon leaving, the Socialist Secretary for Equality, Pilar Bernabé, did not rule out the possibility of more complaints, but focused on the party's response. "It's not a question of how many cases come to light, but how we will act," Bernabé told the media, guaranteeing that the PSOE would implement the necessary measures and that this crisis would mark "a turning point."

Torró had already appeared before the meeting to explain that the PSOE had finally issued a report on the first case, that of Salazar. He also announced the opening of two other internal investigations. One of them is against Salazar's former right-hand man, Antonio Hernández, who was dismissed this week as director of the Political Coordination Department in the Spanish Prime Minister's Office for allegedly covering up Salazar's conduct. The other is against Javier Izquierdo, a member of the party's federal executive committee and senator for Valladolid. This name was added on Thursday night to that of the previously... Secretary General of the PSOE in Torremolinos, Antonio Navarro, or the President of the Provincial Council of Lugo, José Toméwho have also been singled out in recent days.

Torró defended at Friday's press conference that the PSOE has in no way tried to cover up accusations of sexual harassment. In Izquierdo's case, in fact, she emphasized that they are acting on their own initiative without having received any complaint against him, who argued to X and privately that he was stepping down to "attend to other professional and personal tasks." The Socialist Party's number three encouraged anyone who may have information to come forward. This Friday afternoon, the Secretary General is holding a meeting with the party's Equality officers, the second in two weeks, regarding an issue that deeply worries the PSOE. Sources within the party admit that this flank, which the PP is already trying to exploit, could do them even more damage than the corruption issue, given that the female vote is one of the factors that explained Pedro Sánchez's resistance against the right wing on June 23rd and is part of the party's DNA.

The December barometer from the Center for Sociological Research (CIS), published shortly after Torró's appearance, already points to a drop in women's support for the PSOE. In one month, it fell by 4.1 points. Sources at the PSOE headquarters on Ferraz Street maintain that they have not yet analyzed the potential consequences of this issue on the electoral process because they are immersed in the "pain" it is causing them. However, it is a factor that sources within the People's Party (PP) are clear they want to capitalize on in the upcoming electoral cycle, which begins in a week in Extremadura. "We will go all out," say sources within the PP leadership, who believe that Sánchez has lost credibility by speaking about feminism. The Socialists defend themselves by arguing that the problem of sexual harassment "is not a PSOE issue" but rather "a societal issue." "Sexist attitudes are structural," Torró retorted.

The internal channel

Torró has apologized to the women who anonymously reported Salazar through the party's internal channel five months ago. "There was a failure in communication with them, and legitimate doubts arose about the procedure," the Socialist leader acknowledged, referring to the "innovative" channel implemented to address these types of situations. Torró asserted that the reports were not deleted but rather that the computer system automatically "hid" them for data protection reasons. The PSOE will "review the protocol with legal experts in the field" to adjust it. Furthermore, the party ruled out taking legal action against Salazar—it will instead support the victims if they choose to do so—and the report on him is limited to internal action after concluding that "his conduct constitutes a very serious offense."