Why is Sumar imploding?

MadridMoviment Sumar is immersed in an earthquake. As a parenthesis, a first note: it is the party founded by Yolanda Díaz three years ago and which, together with Comuns, Esquerra Unida and Més Madrid, is designing a new alliance to run in coalition in the general elections scheduled for 2027. The formation 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 the day-to-day organic work. "I have the feeling that in these months I have not done what I should have done," she acknowledged 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 a clear path for the four parties in the platform to choose a new figurehead. But one of the actors, Sumar, is going through one of its weakest moments after the until now organization secretary, Laura Moreno, has resigned with a very harsh letter against the leadership. This is a departure that adds to the recent resignation of David Comas as communication secretary, which had not been made public. All this comes as Moviment Sumar is about to hold its General Assembly, the third in three years, to set the party's course. It began to be prepared three months ago and will finally be held in Madrid on Saturday, July 11. "We have an important assembly ahead of us for which we want to make an effort for serenity and care," defend sources from the formation. "We know that it has not been like that in recent days and for this reason we would like to apologize," they add.

"The 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 profile, 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 general coordinator of the formation, initiated by six high-ranking institutional and organic leaders who observed "worrying behavior towards some employees." "I have suffered a deterioration in my mental health for defending a project that, perhaps, above all else, almost no one believed in. If I had known, it would have saved me chronic anxiety, medication, and treatment," she added.

A "hunt"

Sources close to Lara Hernández show "calm" about the accusations and assure that she has done nothing wrong and does not fear the accusations. However, they acknowledge that there is an "internal tremor" and point out that she has not yet decided whether she will run for re-election. In parallel, a weighty voice from the party and the parliamentary group, from Lara Hernández's sector, believes that this is a "witch hunt" and attributes the accusations to a "power struggle" and a "political dispute." She alleges that she has been the one who has been "harassed" and "mistreated" and criticizes that the body responsible for the internal investigation is not the guarantees committee, but a "spurious and ad hoc" committee. It is the so-called protocol commission, which was created following the approval of the anti-harassment protocol after the explosion of the Errejón case. "Everything is Kafkaesque," protest the same sources, who lament that all this has placed a "sword of Damocles" over Lara Hernández and they condemn her being used as a "scapegoat."

Those who have put their finger in the wound in recent hours have been Elizabeth Duval, who in March 2025 resigned as Sumar's communication coordinator. She was one of the four people who temporarily led the party after Yolanda Díaz stepped down. In an article in Artículo 14 she calls for a left that "doesn't embarrass" and lashes out at Lara Hernández: "She almost systematically refused to meet with me, she went on to treat me like an enemy." She also accuses her of "reprimands" to "preserve" power and of having "called" party workers "by phone." And she gives full validity to Laura Moreno's accusation: "It would be difficult to believe that we were colluding without our experiences being at least somewhat similar." "A ship piloted like this hardly reaches a safe harbor," she concludes.

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 is 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 collegially", her position has remained vacant and the baton has been held by Lara Hernández, who has also served as the party's spokesperson, along with Minister Ernest Urtasun, who comes from Comuns. In fact, Laura Moreno also recounted that she denounced this passivity: "It was the detonator that aggravated my situation. I was excluded without prior notice, parallel discussions were initiated with territorial leaders and some workers explain that they received instructions to isolate me".