Why is Sumar imploding?

MadridMoviment Sumar is immersed in an earthquake. As a parenthesis, a first note: it is the party that Yolanda Díaz founded three years ago and that, together with Comuns, Esquerra Unida and Més Madrid, is designing a new alliance to run in coalition in the general elections planned for 2027. The party was formally led by Yolanda Díaz until the current second vice-president of the Spanish government resigned the day after the blow in the European elections of June 2024 and distanced herself from day-to-day party matters. "I have the feeling that in these months I have not done the things I should have done," she admitted at the time. Last February, amid the reconfiguration movements to the left of the PSOE, Díaz announced that she would not run again as a candidate for Moncloa and left the way clear for the four parties in the platform to choose a new visible face. But one of the actors, Sumar, is going through one of its weakest moments after the then organizational secretary, Laura Moreno, resigned with a very harsh letter against the leadership. This departure is in addition to the recent resignation of David Comas as communication secretary, which had not been disclosed. All this comes just before Moviment Sumar holds its assembly, the third in three years, to set the party's course. It is expected to be on Saturday, July 11.

"Silence in the face of what I consider injustices produces impunity and ends up reproducing injustices. I am talking about the lack of respect that the leadership of which I have been a part has shown towards its people, its militants, and its organization," denounced Laura Moreno in the resignation letter she sent to the party leadership. The number three was a little-known figure, rarely seen at events and appearing in very few photos. In the letter, she also lamented that she was "progressively removed" from her responsibilities and "isolated from the party's structures." Likewise, she denounced that an internal investigation is underway against Lara Hernández, the formation's general coordinator, initiated by six senior institutional and organizational leaders who observed "worrying behavior towards some workers." "I have suffered a deterioration in my mental health defending a project that, perhaps, above me, almost no one believed in. If I had known, it would have saved me from chronic anxiety, medication, and treatment," she added.

A "hunt"

Sources close to Lara Hernández express "calm" regarding the accusations and assert that she has done nothing wrong and does not fear the charges. However, they acknowledge there is an "internal tremor" and point out that she has not yet decided whether she will run for re-election. In parallel, an influential voice within the party and the parliamentary group, from Lara Hernández's sector, believes this is a "witch hunt" and attributes the accusations to a "power struggle" and a "political dispute." They allege that she has been the one who has been "harassed" and "mistreated" and criticize that the body handling the internal investigation is not the guarantees committee, but a "spurious and ad hoc committee." This is the so-called protocol commission, which was created following the approval of the anti-harassment protocol after the outbreak of the Errejón case. "Everything is Kafkaesque," protest the same sources, lamenting that all of this has placed a "sword of Damocles" over Lara Hernández and condemning her being used as a "scapegoat."

The one who has stirred things up in the last few hours has been Elizabeth Duval, who stepped down as Sumar's communication coordinator in March 2025. She was one of the four people who temporarily led the party after Yolanda Díaz stepped down. "I wonder who is responsible for the mess," she proclaimed on X when the news broke. And she urged Lara Hernández to resign and not seek re-election.

A ten-month power vacuum

Let's go back for a moment. Yolanda Díaz stepped aside just two and a half months after the foundational assembly of the party that had ratified her as leader. The succession was formalized in March 2025, with the election of Lara Hernández and Carlos Martín as co-general coordinators of the party. The latter resigned last August, citing health reasons: "In recent months, my health has given me some warnings and it's time to pay attention to it," he said.

Since then, and despite Sumar's statutes stipulating that the general coordination must be "composed of two people collectively," her position has remained vacant and Lara Hernández has taken the lead, also serving as spokesperson for the party, along with Minister Ernest Urtasun, who comes from Comuns. In fact, Laura Moreno also stated that she denounced this passivity: "It was the trigger that aggravated my situation. I was excluded without prior notice, a parallel dialogue was initiated with territorial leaders and some workers explain that they received instructions to isolate me".