The PSOE does not plan to refer the “Salazar case” to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, despite repeated demands from some equality secretaries in the various provinces. The federal leadership understands that this would require obtaining permission from the complainants, whose identity is unknown, an explanation that does not convince some feminist activists in the party, who believe that “there are serious indications of the possibility of a crime of sexual harassment and abuse of power,” and that the Public Prosecutor’s Office could act ex officio or at the request of one of the parties, which in this case would be the party.
They do not think so in Ferraz Street, which is now seeking an emergency solution to end the procedure that was reactivated after elDiario.es highlighted the disappearance of complaints submitted by two victims of Pedro Sánchez’s former advisor in Moncloa and a member of the federal executive. What’s more, they are urging their leaders to be cautious in their public statements and “not to express free opinions” until the final outcome of the investigation is known.
Particular alarm was caused by the statements of the government delegate in Asturias, Adriana Lastra, who on Thursday, like other Socialists, confirmed that “the Federal Executive Committee, as soon as the work is completed, will immediately inform the Prosecutor General’s Office of the facts.” He added: “Because we are talking about violence against women.”
In addition to Rebeca Toro, Secretary of Organization, and Pilar Bernabé, Federal Secretary of Equality, feminists in the party also targeted María Jesús Montero for being the leader of Andalusian Socialism, with Salazar maintaining her anchors through the Secretary of PSOE-A, Francisco Rodríguez. Montero and Rodriguez specifically were the first to question the complaints and appreciate their co-religionist’s decision to step back and resign from his position in the party.
The Deputy Secretary General of the Andalusian Socialists, who now provides protection for victims and rejects sexist positions, went so far as to attribute Salazar’s downfall to “inaccurate information.” Asked about any possible contractual or business relationship between the PSOE of Andalusia with Salazar, Montero on Thursday rejected any kind of association with “this person.” At his opening campaign meeting in Extremadura, the Prime Minister did not mention this issue at all, not even in a veiled way as a reaction to the discontent of women in his party.
The system was only “blacked out” with Moncloa’s former advisor
In the midst of the Francisco Salazar scandal, the case of the leader of the Socialist Workers Party in Torremolinos, Antonio Navarro, exploded in the Socialist Party. The Public Prosecutor’s Office is investigating the complaint filed against him on charges of sexual harassment by one of the militants who sent messages “containing sexual content and unwanted or non-consensual insinuations and suggestions.” Before taking this step, the woman had reported the complaint to her party through the internal anti-harassment channel. Unlike Paco Salazar’s complainants, his case was investigated.
With Torremolinos’ testimony, not even the “system blackout” that made the complaints against the former high-ranking official in Moncloa disappear, nor did five months go by without being addressed. The Socialist Party itself admits that the anti-harassment body process has been active “for a long time” and has already progressed to the point where parties have been “seen” and allowed to register allegations.
In fact, they in the SWP made it clear that this internal investigation had practically reached its conclusion and that it was only at the expense of a final ruling. But the activist decided to go to the prosecution to file her complaint on charges of sexual harassment before waiting for her party’s decision. It is a case that, apart from the seriousness of the facts, demonstrates that the Anti-Harassment Commission acted in this case of which it became aware through the same channel used by the women who reported on Paco Salazar without even receiving notification that their writings, which had disappeared from the system, had been accepted for processing.
The complaint was referred to the Violence Against Women Section of the Malaga Public Prosecutor’s Office, which will investigate the case, and the PSOE’s regional leadership issued a statement declaring that “the reported facts are being examined and investigated by the anti-harassment body appointed by the party’s federal executive.” “If the Prosecutor General’s Office opens the proceedings, this regional direction will submit a request to the Federal Executive Committee for the precautionary suspension of hostilities in accordance with our laws and regulations,” the letter said.
The socialist activist attached to her complaint WhatsApp messages from Navarro dating back to 2021, conversations about municipal policy issues, including sexual comments by the deputy, according to Sour newspaper.
Some of Navarro’s messages published by the newspaper are as follows: “Don’t avoid me, I want to attack you.” “I know how to take your headache away”; “How comfortable we would be now with a glass of wine and a sofa”; “You’re so good”; “Have you always had this neckline?”; “Even if you wear a turtleneck, you’ll be just as hot.” The woman presented the full conversations she had with the leader of the Socialist Workers Party in Torremolinos, where he insisted on these sexual comments, while trying to return again and again to talk about municipal affairs.