Socialist activist Antonio Navarro reported to the Secretary General of the PSOE in Torremolinos (Málaga, population 70,933), for alleged sexual harassment. The complainant, a party member in the city of Málaga, submitted documents to the court in which she showed numerous WhatsApp conversations initially linked to municipal matters but which later led to interventions of a personal and, finally, sexual nature on the part of Navarro, 49, who has lived in the area since 2019. The case is now in the hands of the Violence for Women Section of the Regional Public Prosecution Office in Málaga, according to the Diary. south In the afternoon of this miércoles.
The Socialist Party stated in a statement that it is investigating the crimes, and that if the Public Prosecution opens investigations, it will request the precautionary suspension of the accused’s activity. The case arose amid controversy over sexual harassment allegations against Francisco Salazar, former secretary of analysis and electoral action of the PSOE and former high-ranking member of La Moncloa and one of Pedro Sánchez’s closest supporters.
Among the dialogues contained in the complaint filed by the militant in Torremolinos and reported by the Malagueno newspaper, are numerous phrases supposedly from the socialist leader in the city and reflecting topics that have nothing to do with municipal or professional affairs. The talks date back to September 2021. “Don’t be shy about me, I want to put a record on you,” he says during a business conversation. “I like that we’re going to be with a glass of wine and a couch now,” he insists as the woman tries to avoid commenting and renew the conversation. “You’re very good,” he says, only to ask later: “Is this what you’ve been listening to forever?”
The Socialist Workers Party activist also confirmed to her that Navarro touched her buttocks without her consent and that she rejected this gesture, warning that she would inform the party leadership if she insisted. Later, he tried to apologize and left about half a hundred messages for about five hours, resuming the first hour of the next day’s trip. During the following days, between professional matters, return to pregnancy. “When you’re bored, you put a lot of water”, “Iré depilado por si tienes un slip”, “Te ponía ahora de vuelta y media”, “le dice”, among other phrases.
The woman said the messages “with sexual content, unwanted or unacceptable innuendos and suggestions” were delivered in an “intimidating, degrading and humiliating” environment. This has “severely” affected your peace of mind and security. It also made him feel like an “unbearable prison,” and left him afraid to present himself at his door.
The Socialist Workers’ Party of Malaga issued a statement in the last hour of the evening this month to ensure that the incriminating facts were found under “examination and investigation” by the apparatus against the threat appointed by the party’s Federal Executive Committee, “which operates with complete independence and obligatory privacy.” Anyadi said that when the Regional Directorate learned of the complaint at the Gender Violence Inspectorate, it transferred the information to the Federal Executive Committee, “and proceeded to integrate it into the media and, if appropriate, take some measures.” Moreover, Subrayan said that if the Inspectorate opens investigations, the Regional Directorate will request a precautionary suspension of Navarro’s militant activity. “The PSOE of Malaga demonstrates its unwavering commitment to equality and its absolute rejection of any harassment against women,” the text concludes.
Antonio Navarro has been Secretary General of the PSOE in Torremolinos since April this year, when he was forced to take a modified vote in the local assembly. The political leader then regained a position he had lost in a censure petition a year ago, after arriving at the position at the beginning of 2022, after five years as secretary of the organization. He is also a councilor in the Ayuntamiento de Torremolinos since 2019 and a deputy in the Diputación Provincial de Málaga since July 2023. His profile in the supra-municipal body shows that he is studying an online degree in economics at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya and that before that he studied a middle-grade course in administrative management in Colmenar Viejo. He was a member of the Socialist Youth of Tres Cantos between 1999 and 2003, and since 2010 he has been a member of the Socialist Workers’ Party of Torremolinos. His career, which began in 2000, was always linked to jobs as a sales agent for different companies.