“Exercising power implies conflict.” Irene Montero, Minister of Equality since 2020, said it a few months ago when her confrontation with Vice President Yolanda DÃaz was already underway. Montero criticized without saying so the subtle ways and the consensus tone of her fellow ranks in the coalition. The minister, who has never shied away from the spotlight, who has faced all kinds of controversies in the intense navigation that her Ministry has given her, should well know that a woman, like her, even in other ways, also knows how to stab when it suits her .
For better or for worse, Irene Montero has not left anyone indifferent in these three long years at the helm of the Ministry of Equality. Aware that with the coalition government between the PSOE and Podemos she was made with a very precious portfolio for socialist feminists, she has played her cards thoroughly. With the Trans law, the fall of the socialist vice president, Carmen Calvo, was brought about, and feminism evidenced its division. But this triumph took its toll on him when the conviction reviews began with the law of only yes is yes. The extensive support network was broken.
The projection of Irene Montero goes beyond her management as minister, from before, meanwhile, and surely also from today. She was born in Madrid in 1988, at the age of 16 she joined the Communist Youth and participated in the 15-M mobilizations. With a degree and a master’s degree in Psychology, in her career as a young activist she participated in the creation of the Platform for People Affected by Mortgages (PAH) from where she joined Podemos in 2014. She soon became chief of staff for the then leader of the group, Pablo Iglesias, who became his partner.
In 2015, she ran as a deputy in the general elections for Madrid, renewed her seat in 2016. And in 2017, she starred in the motion of censure that Podemos presented against Mariano Rajoy with a brilliant speech. It did not prosper but it was one more step for the current minister in her rapid rise in the political career.
Under the spotlight, and with the scrutiny of public opinion and political rivals, the purchase in 2018 of a villa in Galapagar -when she was pregnant with her twins- was the cause of controversy due to the price and because, then, the attacks of Churches against the “caste” were on the agenda of Podemos. And also because of the harassment to which the ultra-right subjected her family. Due to the controversy, Montero and Iglesias submitted their continuity in the positions of the organization to consultation with the bases of the party. They won with 68.5% of the vote.
The career of Montero, who is now 35 years old, has been intense. In politics, without a doubt, and in his personal sphere, it should be remembered that his twins were born prematurely and spent three months in the hospital. In 2019, she had her third daughter, a few months before being appointed minister. We must also appease the stories. When Leo and Manuel were born, the political class turned to her support. Especially the then leader of the PP, Pablo Casado, father of a five-month-old son.
The political maelstrom gives few breaths, and Irene Montero put the direct one with her entry into the Ministry of Equality. She changed the course of a portfolio with an eye on an intersectional feminism, where other discriminations are also condensed in addition to the fact of being a woman -race, social class, identity…-, drawing an insurmountable border and expelling classic feminism from the debate . This would be more of a theoretical reflection, but it also becomes a political story because from here emanated a strong confrontation in the Government, which hatched with the law of only if it is yes and the refusal of the minister to change the norm.
Even Yolanda DÃaz, who ended up voting with Podemos against the reform of this law, was reluctant to explicitly support Montero. Exercising power is conflict and, of course, Irene Montero has not shied away from it.
