Beyond personal sympathies or antipathies, Yolanda DÃaz had not seen it clear for a long time that Irene Montero occupied a position on the Sumar lists. But without the crash of 28-M it would not have been possible for him to remove the Minister of Equality. Although Pablo Iglesias’s march was noted for its charisma, Montero’s is symbolic because it has marked the future of the first left-wing coalition government. From her clash with the PSOE feminists to the law of only yes is yes, the minister has been the voice of the most purist Podemos, which has contributed (together with the pacts with ERC) to draw an extremist Executive and in permanent brawl. Pedro Sánchez considered taking over from her, but he avoided it so as not to create more internal problems and harm DÃaz. Both came to the conclusion long ago that Montero’s high ideological tension and her cultural battles were a drag. She thus became the elephant in the room.
Two phenomena were running in parallel: the deflating of Podemos and the conflicts over the management of Montero.
The 15-M was the propellant of Podemos. That movement caught on in the midst of a brutal crisis, with a terrifying strike, the news spitting out images of evictions while the banks required bailout and some notable men paraded through the courts. In the squares, a total regeneration of public life was called for. 15-M had an impact on Spanish politics to such an extent that PP leaders were sympathetic. Pablo Iglesias understood the political possibilities of that movement like no one else and gave free rein to a discourse of “impeachmentâ€, that of “the casteâ€, that of the frontal clash with the media, financial, judicial or political “powersâ€. But Spanish society is no longer at that time.
Twelve years have elapsed since 15-M, enough for many of those who got their hopes up then to have gone through the stage of disappointment long ago. In the post-pandemic scenario, more financial factors prevail than the transformative epic of 2011. It could be summed up as a logical desire to live (hence the success of Ayuso’s slogans about freedom: fewer rules, less interventionism…) clouded by uncertainties. like inflation or drought. The language of the challenge has been exhausted while the management of Podemos in the Government raised blisters and only the most convinced took communion. Until the purples came face to face with reality on 28-M.
That blow has allowed DÃaz to manage to separate Montero from the Sumar lists. The process has been arduous and has left scars. We can guarantee eight deputies with whom they could form a subgroup in the mixed party if relations deteriorate further, although they have signed a commitment to unity. Without Iglesias or Montero, Podemos lacks strong leadership. Ione Belarra has tried to cover her back, first by consulting the militancy to have their endorsement of the negotiation and then with an online vote by the state council on Friday on the list for Madrid, in which Montero was no longer on, endorsed by unanimity. Beyond Podemos, the Sumar conglomerate is, by nature, unstable. But part of the conviction that the message has to be more transversal, not for a redoubt as it was in its day IU. For example, Ada Colau has reinvented herself from a PAH activist to a champion of the green city. For Podemos, that is “cuqui leftâ€. The purples appeared in Madrid with a huge poster with the face of Ayuso’s brother to indicate favorable treatment. But it did not work out and they only managed to mobilize the right.
Yolanda DÃaz closed the Podemos cycle yesterday. It is the decline of one of the “available utopias” that Marina Subirats defined, referring to the independence movement. For Sánchez, the launch of Sumar without Montero is good news. Her relationship with the purples has led to friction with her barons and a detachment from her most conflict-averse electorate, as reflected in Andalusia, for example. Although she can hardly be in time to reverse the disaffection caused.
