Spain's Left-Wing Party Sumar in Crisis: Leader Accused of Harassment and Fraud

Spain's left-wing party, Movimiento Sumar, is in turmoil. Two top leaders have resigned, publicly accusing the party's coordinator, Lara Hernández, of harassment and fraud. The crisis comes just before a key party congress in July, where Hernández’s leadership is at stake. The party’s secretary of Organization, Laura Moreno, resigned on Tuesday. In her resignation letter, she accused Hernández of “fraud” in internal voting processes and of “concerning behavior” toward staff. This follows the recent resignation of the party’s communications secretary, David Comas. Moreno’s letter states she was “progressively sidelined” by Hernández over the past year, leading to a deterioration in her mental health. She also revealed an internal investigation into Hernández for alleged workplace harassment, based on a complaint from six senior party officials. Hernández denies all accusations. Her team claims the allegations are part of a “smear campaign” by a critical faction within the party. They say Hernández was not properly informed of the harassment complaint and that the committee investigating it is biased. They also claim the critical faction tried to manipulate party membership lists to win a vote. The internal battle has been brewing for months. It intensified after Yolanda Díaz, the party’s founder, announced she would not run in the next general election. The party is now preparing for an extraordinary congress in July, where Hernández’s leadership will likely be challenged. The main critic, party spokesperson Verónica Martínez, has not yet said if she will run for the top job. When asked, she said she is “at the party’s disposal” and that decisions are not made individually. This crisis weakens Movimiento Sumar at a delicate time. The party is already in fragile negotiations with other left-wing groups to form a new alliance for the next election. Its internal conflict leaves it in an even more precarious position.