The second vice president of the government, Yolanda Díaz, appeared this Monday in Congress to give explanations on the Errejón case, after the resignation of the former spokesperson for Sumar last Thursday amid accusations of harassment and after a sexual assault complaint. “I know we are late and I apologize.”declared the Minister of Labor.
During his speech, Díaz recalled the unfolding events of the past week and said that on Wednesday he had “one of the most difficult conversations” of his life with Errejón, during which the former deputy recognized “sexist and humiliating attitudes towards women”. Faced with this response, he “vehemently” requested the minutes and ordered him to withdraw his organic positions.
“He accepted the facts and, as you know, decided unilaterally to publish a letter which I don’t share at all. This is called machismo, and this violence has no place in public life in which they know how much I believe,” said the minister, who defended that Sumar had acted with “force and speed”.
Díaz also spoke about Errejón’s inclusion on Sumar’s lists and assured that he would not be included on any of them if he had known he was a suspected sex offender. In this sense, the Minister of Labor was direct: “He should never have been an MP or a leader.”
Likewise, the second vice president admitted having been informed of the complaint against Errejón in 2023. He clarified that they contacted Podemos and Más Madrid, who informed them that an investigation was going to be opened and that it was then closed, since the woman had deleted the tweet in which she recounted the events.
Regarding the mental health issues Errejón cited in his letter, Díaz said he knew what the former spokesperson was telling him: “I know he was in therapy. Last year was betterfor the information he gave me. This is what I know.
Sumar already said on Saturday that, until last Tuesday, he knew nothing about the accusations of sexist behavior and aggression against Íñigo Errejón. Space thus passed the buck and reduced its responsibility in the scandal of which it co-founded Podemos to a “failure” in prevention and detection protocols situations of harassment and sexual violence. In this sense, he announced mechanisms to try to improve them.
During a press conference on Saturday, Sumar pointed the finger at Más Madrid, a formation integrated into the coalition which he accuses of not having informed the leadership when he learned of the first testimony of a victim, ago almost a year and a half. This Monday, the regional match denied knowing attitudes of the former MP, while recognizing having minimized the first grievance.
