The spokesperson for the Sumar Group in Congress, Verónica Martínez Barbero, and the Secretary of State for Social Rights, Rosa Martínez, have been ratified as new coordinators of Movimiento Sumar after winning with 95.92 percent support against the "Sumar para gobernar" list in the extraordinary assembly held this Saturday, as communicated by the organization itself.
In the same meeting, the political-organizational report achieved 98.96 percent support from just over 300 accredited delegates, in a meeting held at the COEM space, next to the Cuatro Torres in Madrid.
During the day, five key resolutions were validated. The first promotes the launch of an autonomous Youth Space, based on participation, independence, internal democracy, and collective care. Thus, the youth sector of the movement, considered an essential part of it, will now have its own legal personality, differentiated censuses, and specific statutes, in addition to demanding youth presence at all territorial levels.
The assembly also gave the green light to strengthen the eco-socialist space "Apostamos", in collaboration with the Green-Equo Party and other organizations, with the goal of articulating agreements that consolidate a green, eco-socialist, and laborist bloc.
At the same time, the party commits to strengthening alliances with other progressive actors "from cooperation, mutual recognition, respect for the autonomy of each organization, and shared political elaboration, as a contribution to the strengthening of the entire space."
In the political debate, it was emphasized that "there is not yet a fully egalitarian democracy" in the face of the rise of "anti-feminist and reactionary discourses, which seek to question women's rights and halt social progress."
Therefore, Movimiento Sumar defends an intersectional, class-based, and democratic feminism, connected with other struggles for equality "that improves the living conditions of women and places the eradication of gender-based violence as a collective responsibility of institutions and of all society."
New territorial model and decentralized coordination
The assembly also agreed to the creation of a "plurinational and decentralized" Territorial Council as a stable body for coordination and representation, with the presence of all constituted territories. Its internal regulations will be negotiated with the territorial organizations and must be approved by the Coordination Council before the end of 2026.
Through an amendment, the holding of a Territorial Conference on a quarterly basis was also approved, in which the territories will participate in a binding manner in the definition of the state political strategy. Agreements reached by a qualified majority will have to be debated and submitted to a vote by the state bodies within a maximum period of thirty days.
The organization also took advantage of the meeting to examine the international geopolitical context, with special attention to the impact of Donald Trump's presidency in the United States and the situation in Gaza, Iran, Ukraine, Cuba, and Venezuela, among other scenarios.
Attempt to overcome the internal crisis of Movimiento Sumar
The appointment of Martínez Barbero and Rosa Martínez closes a phase of the leadership renewal process of Movimiento Sumar, aimed at channeling the internal crisis that the party had been experiencing. Their single candidacy was presented as a broad proposal, with the aim of integrating the different currents and sensitivities of the formation.
This extraordinary assembly, the third in just three years, had the mission of reorganizing the structure of Movimiento Sumar, consolidating its territorial presence, and preparing the party for a new political cycle, with the objective of revalidating the progressive coalition government in the next general elections, scheduled for next year.
The change at the top comes after the resignation of former Organization Secretary Laura Moreno, who left the post amid criticism of Lara Hernández and revealed the opening of an internal investigation for alleged mistreatment of workers. Hernández's circle flatly rejected these accusations, but she also ended up leaving her responsibilities a few days ago.
The formation had already gone through other turbulent episodes since its appearance on the political scene, such as Yolanda Díaz's departure from the general coordination, the resignation of former parliamentary spokesperson Íñigo Errejón after being accused of alleged sexual assault by actress Elisa Mouliáa, and the departure of various organic leaders.
The new leadership maintains Díaz as a political reference for the space, although without organic functions in the party. The second vice president and Minister of Labor attended the assembly this Saturday as just another militant, after announcing months ago that she will not run to lead future electoral candidacies either.
Political careers and immediate challenges
Rosa Martínez had already assumed interim coordination after Díaz's resignation and has a track record in Podemos and Verdes Equo. She was a deputy in the Congress and in the Basque Parliament and currently holds the State Secretariat for Social Rights.
Verónica Martínez Barbero, for her part, was director general in the Ministry of Labor and later took on the spokesperson role for the plurinational Sumar group in Congress as a consensus figure after Errejón's resignation.
At the beginning of the assembly day, both leaders defended to the media the need to build a broader left, capable of acting with "responsibility and foresight," and underlined the role of Movimiento Sumar as a meeting space between different progressive organizations.
Among their priorities, they pointed out strengthening the organizational structure, extending territorial implantation, and facing challenges such as inequality, the ecological crisis, uncontrolled technological development, and "techno-oligarchs." From now on, they will have to implement this roadmap and designate a strong leadership candidacy to try to overcome the poor poll numbers currently attributed to Sumar.