Podemos admits that Monedero continued to be in the management chats after the first complaints
The bluntness with which Podemos defended its actions regarding Juan Carlos Monedero last week has become fragile as the days go by. After LaSexta revealed screenshots of the chats of the leadership of the purple party in which the presence of the co-founder of the purple party can be seen days after the leadership of the party became aware of the first complaints against him, Podemos has admitted a certain delay in its reaction time, arguing that “there was no resolution that suspended him from membership.”
It was the Secretary of Organization of Podemos, Pablo Fernández, who certified this afternoon that Monedero participated for at least a couple of months in the decision-making of the governing bodies before being expelled from the internal chats.
Fernández has explained that the decision to remove Monedero from the Telegram channel of the State Citizen Council, the highest governing body, was taken by the party's executive but, instead of focusing on this delay, it has focused on the "worrying" leaks that appeared from the aforementioned internal chat.
Read also Monedero participated in Podemos' decisions after the first complaints Asier Martiarena
The doubts and delays of Podemos regarding Monedero have marked the press conference in which the secretary of organization of the party has insisted that the co-founder of the party cannot be suspended from membership if the victims do not continue with the internal process of complaint, given that a resolution of the Guarantees Commission is required.
“It is dangerous to delegitimize the protocols,” he said after being questioned about whether the management could have taken the decision to withdraw his membership after receiving testimonies of sexual violence. Thus, he explained that if they finally decide to do so, the investigation and possible disciplinary measures will be taken.
During his appearance, the purple leader has reaffirmed his conviction that they made the right decisions, given that they removed Monedero from the party's events without making it public in order to guarantee the "anonymity" and "confidentiality" requested by the complainants.
Podemos' performance once again demonstrates a triumph of feminism Pablo Fernández Secretary of Organization of Podemos
"We made those decisions when no one was looking, when there was no media pressure, because in this country, until now, powerful men were not removed from their positions of responsibility until a, let's say, media storm broke out," Fernández said.
In fact, she has proclaimed that this action by her organization demonstrates “once again a triumph of feminism” and that there is at least one political party that immediately takes testimonies from victims, makes a protocol available to them and guarantees them that there is “a safe space for women.”
“We are with the victims and with the complainants, always. We do believe in the 'Sister, I do believe you'. We are with the victims and with the complainants, always. And they have our full support and they have our full backing and they have our full respect,” he added.
First complaints in September 2023The complaint filed by two women against Juan Carlos Monedero for “sexual violence” reached Podemos headquarters in September 2023. The party initially defended the leadership that rests on Ione Belarra and decided to “immediately remove Monedero from any activity”. But Podemos has admitted that this was not the case and that the party co-founder participated in the decision-making for several more weeks. And in parallel, on the same dates, several members of the party leadership received testimony from another woman who claimed to be a victim of sexual violence by Monedero and who expressly asked that he stop participating in the organization's events. In this sense, Podemos emphasizes that the organization's priority “has always been to fulfill its obligation to be a safe space for all women, in addition to recognizing those who have offered their testimony and respecting their decisions”, and reiterates its commitment to “act forcefully in the face of any sign of violence”.
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