Podemos wraps itself in social movements to face the next electoral cycle

Brief answer

After these territorial and sectoral meetings, Podemos directs its next steps in three main directions: deepening internal reflection and organizational reconstruction, finalizing a roadmap of alliances to the left of the PSOE, and turning the collected demands into a campaign program very focused on housing, public services, and equality. Events with militants, supporters, and social movements – such as today's national day "Spring of struggles / Spring of hope" – are the lever to legitimize strategic decisions and shape candidacies. In the short term, the party has announced internal debate processes "in the coming days" following the poor results in Castilla y León and Andalusia, and is activating consultations with the bases to endorse pacts like those of "Por Andalucía." In parallel, a left unity agenda is consolidating through territorial coalitions (IU, Sumar, Alianza Verde, EH Bildu) and a narrative of "social rearmament" that should lead to a candidacy as unified and competitive as possible for the next general elections.

Objective of the meetings and their translation into strategy

According to recent information, the territorial and sectoral meetings fulfill a dual function: channeling internal discontent after the electoral "blows" and reconstructing a clearer political proposal from the grassroots. Pablo Fernández has announced that in the "coming days" a reflection process will open after the "huge blow" in Castilla y León, with the idea of reviewing political and organizational direction based on what the bases convey in these debate forums (Demócrata). In practice, they serve to listen to diagnoses, collect concrete proposals, and reinforce Podemos' identity as a "clearly left-wing" force aiming to stop the PP and Vox.

Today's major event in Madrid, under the umbrella "Spring of struggles / Spring of hope," exemplifies this logic: it is presented as a first national meeting to articulate the electoral strategy, strengthen ties with social movements, and make visible struggles in housing, employment, or public services (Demócrata). In parallel, in territories like Castilla y León, the February meetings served to launch the campaign "The strength of courage" and coordinate with local militants the implementation of the Podemos‑Alianza Verde candidacy, as well as the provincial distribution of lists (20minutos).

Roadmap and political calendar outlined

As of June 9, 2026, there is no single public document with the entire calendar, but the reports deduce a clear sequence. First, an immediate phase of organized internal reflection, announced "in the coming days," which starts precisely through these meetings and seeks to organize the assessment of the latest regional elections (Demócrata). Second, a stage of territorial deliberation, in which regional leaderships maintain the competence to decide participation formulas, as highlighted in Andalusia regarding possible agreements with IU or Sumar (El País).

The third block is the definition of alliances where left fragmentation has proven problematic. In Andalusia, the "Por Andalucía" coalition relied on a consultation with militants in which 81 % endorsed a broad pact with IU and Sumar (Demócrata). In Castilla y León, the Podemos‑Alianza Verde tandem was chosen (20minutos), while in Euskadi or Aragón formulas with EH Bildu, Sumar, or green and municipalist platforms are being studied (Demócrata). The projected pattern is tactical, territorial alliances validated by internal consultations, rather than a single front closed from Madrid.

Campaign axes that are consolidating

The programmatic content emerging from these processes is quite consistent across territories. At the regional level, recent programs like Podemos‑Alianza Verde in Castilla y León are structured around housing (regional rental price index, Public Housing Company, and reinforced application of the Housing Law), strengthening public health through a new regional law, and creation of a ministry of equality and diversity to combat gender-based violence (20minutos). These axes are repeated in program comparators and analyses of Podemos' offer in Andalusia: housing, public services, employment, and progressive taxation (PoliticaElectoral; RTVE).

Besides the material agenda (housing, wages, health, education, dependency), pillars remain gender equality, LGTBI rights, and defense of territory and rural areas, emphasizing public services in the "emptied Spain." Reference to previous Podemos documents and Sumar's program shows that the contest for space to the left of PSOE will be fought precisely in these areas (Podemos Program 10N; Sumar Program), so current meetings also function as spaces to refine the narrative against that competitor.

Organizational reconstruction and medium-term alliances

Beneath the electoral surface, there is an explicit bet to "rebuild the party from the bottom": strengthening circles, local cadres, and regional structures to reduce dependence on large state leaderships. Internal consultations, primaries, and assemblies used to validate pacts, as in Andalusia, are part of this strategy to legitimize the political line and select candidacies (Demócrata). The leadership thus seeks to tackle the perception of imposed decisions and rely on grassroots participation to better negotiate with partners like IU, Sumar, Alianza Verde, or EH Bildu.

In the medium term, reports place the ambition to transfer this dynamic to a candidacy as unitary as possible in the next general elections, probably in 2026 and looking ahead to 2027, articulated around a strong social "common program" and a denser territorial presence (Demócrata). In summary, the next steps after this type of meetings involve closing internal reflection, territorializing the social message, and turning that organizational and programmatic base into a left unity option aiming to recover institutional weight.

Functions of Ione Belarra as leader of Podemos and summary of her trajectory

Ione Belarra is, in 2026, the secretary general of Podemos and one of the main leaders of the Spanish state left. As party leader, she coordinates political strategy, sets the discourse line, and represents Podemos before the media, institutions, and other political forces. In parallel, she maintains a relevant role in the Congress of Deputies as spokesperson of the Mixed Group and a reference in social rights, equality, and democratic quality. Her trajectory combines organic leadership, government experience as Minister of Social Rights, and a profile closely linked to human rights and the 2030 Agenda.

Current functions and responsibilities

Secretary General of Podemos

Belarra has been secretary general of Podemos since 2021 and was re-elected in April 2025 at the V Citizen Assembly, with around 90% of the votes from registered participants, although with lower turnout compared to 2021 [El Diario, 13/04/2025]. This position makes her the highest responsible for the party's political and organic leadership: she defines the general strategy, coordinates the internal structure, and manages relations with other left forces. Sources describe her as a leader linked to Podemos' most combative sector, with a critical discourse towards the PSOE government and a commitment to strengthening the party's autonomy.

Internally, she has configured a leadership team highlighting Irene Montero as number two, Secretary of Organization Pablo Fernández, and co-spokesperson Isa Serra, along with activists and new profiles like Mar Cambrollé or Dina Bousselham [El Diario]. From this leadership, she promotes a project combining grassroots militancy with the incorporation of social movements, with an eye on future general elections in which she has supported Irene Montero leading a broad candidacy [El País, 07/04/2025].

Role in the Congress of Deputies

Institutionally, the parliamentary database places her as: main spokesperson of the Mixed Parliamentary Group in the Board of Spokespersons, member of the Permanent Deputation, rapporteur in the Subcommittee on the fight against hate speech (154/6), and spokesperson both in the Equality Commission and in the Investigation Commission on the so-called "Operation Catalonia". From the Board of Spokespersons, she participates in defining the agenda and debate times, politically representing the Mixed Group in major parliamentary agenda decisions.

Her role in the Permanent Deputation allows her to continue exercising government oversight during inactive periods or dissolution of the Cortes, while in the Subcommittee on hate speech she works on proposals to combat incitement to hatred and protect vulnerable groups. As spokesperson in the Equality Commission, she is the reference of her space on feminism, gender violence, and LGTBI rights, and in the Investigation Commission on "Operation Catalonia" she leads the demand for accountability for the alleged partisan use of the Ministry of the Interior under PP governments.

Political and government trajectory

From deputy to minister and party leader

Belarra entered Congress as a Podemos deputy for Navarra after the 2015 elections and has held a seat since then, now in the XV Legislature as a deputy for Madrid according to the parliamentary record. Within the Unidas Podemos confederal group, she was deputy spokesperson and gained visibility by substituting Irene Montero at key moments. Organically, she participated since 2014 in the State Citizen Council, handling areas such as Human Rights, Citizenship, and Diversity.

Her jump to the Executive occurred in January 2020 as Secretary of State for the 2030 Agenda, and in 2021 she was appointed Minister of Social Rights and 2030 Agenda in the coalition government. From this portfolio, she assumed competencies over social rights, families, childhood, dependency, disability, youth, animal protection, and coordination of the 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals. Sources highlight that she promoted the Animal Welfare Law and defended strengthening social services, fighting poverty, and protecting vulnerable groups.

In 2021, after Pablo Iglesias left state politics, she was elected secretary general of Podemos at the IV Citizen Assembly and consolidated as one of the main negotiators of the purple space with the PSOE. In the XV Legislature, after breaking with the Sumar coalition, Podemos moved to the Mixed Group and Belarra assumed its spokesperson role, reinforcing a clearer left opposition profile against the government.

Origins and areas of specialization

Before her institutional career, Ione Belarra worked and collaborated with organizations such as the Red Cross and other NGOs linked to human rights, migration, refuge, and social action. This background explains her later emphasis on social protection policies, defense of public services, migrant rights, and fighting inequality. She has also stood out for pacifist positions and criticism of increased military spending and what she describes as a "war regime" promoted by global economic elites [El Diario, 06/04/2025].

Political areas where she is most projected

Based on her positions and statements, Belarra is especially associated with: social protection and housing (defense of public services, proposals like expropriation of homes from vulture funds); the 2030 Agenda and SDGs; gender equality and LGTBI rights; human rights and migration (regularization of migrants, fight against racism); and democratic quality (control of state apparatuses, denunciation of parapolice networks). This set of axes configures a leadership combining strong social and feminist content with a rupture discourse against policies perceived as continuist or conservative within the progressive field itself.

Synthetic answer

According to the parliamentary database I work with, as of today Podemos has no registered deputies in the Congress of Deputies: the number of deputies currently linked to the state party "Podemos" is 0. That same database also does not allow reconstructing precisely how many Podemos deputies were elected in the general elections of July 23, 2023, nor to follow the exact evolution of their representation since then. The structured information available is very limited (only one historical author linked to Podemos appears, marked as inactive and without traceable personal data), so I cannot offer a reliable chronological breakdown of entries, exits, or moves to the Mixed Group or other groups. Any more detailed analysis would require consulting external sources (official results of 23J, communications from Congress, groups, and the party itself, or journalistic coverage) that are not integrated into this system.

Current situation of Podemos in Congress

According to the parliamentary information available for chamber 17 (Congress of Deputies), when filtering active authors/deputies by the state party "Podemos":

• Number of deputies currently from Podemos: 0.

That is, in the active deputies' records there is no parliamentarian whose party affiliation is identified as "Podemos." This includes checking against all parliamentary groups in Congress: neither within a Podemos own group (which does not exist in this legislature), nor as part of other groups, nor in the Mixed Group is there today any deputy whose author record is linked to the state party Podemos.

Limitations to reconstruct evolution since 23J

The database I work with presents several relevant limitations to answer the second part of your question (how representation has changed since the last general elections of July 23, 2023):

1. Lack of registration of active and historical deputies with traceable affiliation to Podemos.
When searching for both active and inactive authors associated with Podemos in Congress groups, only one author named "Eva García Sempere" appears, linked to a Congress group and the Podemos party, but:

• She is marked as inactive.
• She has no associated person_id (i.e., there is no personal identifier to cross her history with other tables).
• There are no fields of entry/exit dates in the authors table that allow tracing a precise chronology of her presence.

This prevents, with this source, knowing in which legislature she was or how she relates exactly to the post-23J situation.

2. Impossibility of knowing how many Podemos deputies came out of 23J.
The database does not include a structured list of elected deputies by party in the July 23, 2023 elections. It also does not allow distinguishing, within current groups (e.g., Sumar or others), who were elected on lists linked to Podemos and what their subsequent trajectory has been. Therefore:

• It is not possible to indicate how many Podemos deputies entered Congress after 23J.
• It is not possible to break down how many remained afterward in the original group, how many moved to the Mixed Group, or changed internal affiliation.

3. Lack of traceability of changes (splits, moves to Mixed, etc.).
The authors table does not contain fields of dates of group change or party change, and lacking valid person_ids associated with Podemos also prevents accessing, from this system, the news or communications module of Congress to link each change with official notes or Board agreements. In practice, this means that:

• It is not possible to chronologically reconstruct splits or exits of deputies linked to Podemos.
• It is not possible to document precisely when a certain deputy stopped being associated with Podemos or which group they joined.

What can be inferred and what not

With the available information, it is only possible to state with certainty that, as of today, Podemos does not appear with any active deputy in the Congress of Deputies in the structured records of the chamber. This fits the general political context of fragmentation of the space to the left of PSOE, but any detail about the initial number of seats won on 23J and the sequence of subsequent changes would require resorting to:

• Official results of the general elections of July 23, 2023 (Ministry of the Interior).
• Constitutive agreements of parliamentary groups and their successive modifications published by Congress.
• Communications from Podemos and other involved actors.
• Specialized journalistic coverage on the reconfiguration of the Sumar/Podemos space.

Since those external sources are not integrated into the system I have access to, I cannot offer a precise and documented historical series of the type "Podemos went from X deputies after 23J to 0 today, with these dates and these specific names." Any figure more precise than 0 (current situation) would be speculative and violate the criterion of not inventing data.

Conclusion

In summary: the parliamentary records I have access to indicate that Podemos currently has 0 deputies in Congress and do not allow rigorously reconstructing the evolution of its representation since the last general elections of July 23, 2023. We know that, at some past moment, there was at least one deputy associated with Podemos (Eva García Sempere), now inactive and without detailed chronological information. To know exactly how many seats Podemos obtained on 23J, how long they remained, and how the transition to the current scenario without deputies affiliated to the party occurred, it would be necessary to consult official external sources and parliamentary press, which go beyond the scope of this specialized tool.