PSOE feminists urge a review of internal dynamics in the wake of the Salazar case.

MadridAlmost more important than the fight against corruption within the PSOE is the fight for feminism. The Cerdán case has severely damaged the party, but what has generated the most internal turmoil are the audio recordings of José Luis Ábalos and Koldo García evidencing their use of prostitution and the departure of former high-ranking official in the Moncloa Palace, Paco Salazar, for alleged sexual harassment of female workers. Former PSOE number two, Adriana Lastra, gave a very forceful speech behind closed doors during Saturday's federal committee, denouncing the "complicity" within the party with this type of behavior, and this Monday, the Minister of the Presidency, Félix Bolaños, admitted that the PSOE must "reflect" so that women feel more empowered. However, he asked not to "prejudge" the investigations already underway into Salazar.

"We must wait for the complaints that have been made throughElDiario.es can be carried out through party and institutional channels to understand the depth of the cases. We cannot prejudge anything in the face of such serious behavior. We must complete the investigations and ensure that the women of the party feel safe, perceive that they have a safe environment in which to report when there is abuse of this nature," Bolaños stated this Monday in a conversation organized by the Ateneo de Madrid. Ferraz reports that no visible incident has yet been reported on the homepage of the PSOE website, the reporting channel. They emphasize that it was previously anonymous but that it was not so easy to locate. news in the newspaper, we have acted," he emphasized. "We have learned of some clues and information that we did not have until a few days ago," Bolaños wanted to make clear, as did the Minister of Digital Transformation, Óscar López, in an interview on Onda Cero. "I had never heard anything with the secret of the women with the secret of the women with the secret of the women with the secret of the women'. reported the two women victims in ElDiario.es, The insinuations, sexual comments, and invitations typical of sexual harassment and abuse of power were constant.

Adriana Lastra's message

Sánchez managed to close ranks on Saturday try to "save the course" in this moment of crisis, especially with an avalanche of criticism of the president of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page, who raised his voice to ask the Spanish president to submit to a vote of confidence, but during the closed-door debate there were harsh warnings from several women in the party "When a feminist raises her voice to warn of injustice it is easy. She is labeled as exaggerated, conflictive, of being the moral police, as if upholding principles were a defect," criticized Lastra, as reflected in the audio recordings of the federal committee revealed by The Country.

Lastra's profile is particularly significant. On July 18, 2022, she resigned as deputy general secretary of the PSOE, citing personal reasons and a complicated pregnancy. However, over time, the Asturian politician has revealed the poor relationship she had with the then secretary of organization, Santos Cerdán, theoretically her subordinate. "In our party, having power and holding a position don't always go hand in hand. Power still has a male face," Lastra let slip on Saturday at Ferraz. "Santos Cerdán, as everyone in the party knows, subjected me to a cornering operation until I resigned, sick and five and a half months pregnant," she confessed three weeks ago, after the UCO report on the former number 3 of the PSOE was released.

"In this whole process, what hurts the most is not the pointing of fingers. It's the silence. The silence of good men. Of those comrades who know what is happening, who sense the injustice, but remain silent. Out of prudence, out of habit, out of fear of being left out of the frame. That silence, comrades, is not neutral: it is neutral: it is neutral: Spanish in Asturias, in a very forceful message that received the endorsement of the mayor of A Coruña, Inés Rey. "I am very happy to have Rebeca Torró in the organization secretary, but I also want to make a reminder: we have not had an organization secretary for seventeen years, with Leire Pajín, so be careful with the glass cliffs Because the PSOE is the party that most resembles Spain, it's true, but we sometimes have the same patriarchal structures here."

Like Lastra, more women in the party have fallen into disgrace in recent years, such as Laura Berja, former spokesperson for equality in Congress, and Andrea Fernández, the party's former secretary of equality. "We need to empower the secretaries of equality more," argued Francina Armengol, president of Congress and leader of the Socialist Party of the Balearic Islands. María Jesús Montero, the party's current number two and Lastra's successor in the position, called for "exemplary treatment of women to be brought into everyday life."