Podemos ministers Ione Belarra (Social Rights) and Irene Montero (Equality) will not attend the swearing-in of Princess Leonor’s Constitution in Congress, understanding that this act only seeks to “shield” the monarchical institution.
This was indicated by the party’s Secretary of Institutional Action, María Teresa Pérez, in statements to the media in Alicante, where she revealed that due to “democratic conviction” the main leaders of Podemos, as well as its five deputies, will be absent from the event. .
In this way, the Podemos ministers distance themselves from the second vice president and leader of Sumar, Yolanda Díaz, and the head of Universities, Joan Subirats (common), who will attend Leonor’s constitutional swearing-in. Meanwhile, the leader of IU and Minister of Consumer Affairs, Alberto Garzón, will not attend the event either, given that his party sees it as an act of “exaltation” of monarchical values.
Most of the ministers of the coalition’s minority partner such as Díaz, Belarra and Garzón attended the events of the national holiday on October 12, except for the Minister of Equality who was on an official trip to Chile.
“We think that it is not just another act (the ceremony of swearing in the Magna Carta of the Princess), that it is an act to protect the dynasty, the monarchical succession, and therefore Podemos is not going to be part of that operation, nor our neither our deputies nor our ministers are going to attend the event precisely out of democratic commitment,” Pérez emphasized.
The leader of the purple party has explained that in democracy citizens have the right to elect their public representatives through popular vote and that this should also be done in the case of the Head of State. Therefore, her aspiration is that one day citizens will be able to vote “if they prefer to have a king and have princesses or if they prefer to have a republic.”
Last year and during an interview, Pérez already pointed out that his party distanced itself from this ceremony, which he called a “medieval oath” and emphasized the need to advance on the republican horizon.
In turn, and through a message on social networks, Belarra herself has stated in line with what was stated by her co-spokesperson that Princess Leonor swears in the Constitution this Tuesday, “long after having sworn the flag.” ” Podemos will not attend this event that only seeks to protect for decades a monarchy that no one elected. All representatives of the State must be elected democratically,” she concluded.
The independentists of Esquerra (ERC), Junts and Bildu have already decided that they will stand up to the monarchy by not attending the event on the 31st, just as the PNV will do. Thus, Podemos follows in the wake of these groups and there will not be any purple representative.
For its part, this week Sumar agreed to a mixed formula by delegating its representation in the constitutional oath of the Princess of Asturias to a group of its institutional officials, which includes Yolanda Díaz, the parliamentary spokesperson Marta Lois and the members of the Congressional Board. Esther Gil and Gerardo Pisarello.
The parliamentary group thus explained that the rest of its deputies were excused from going to the event after defining their institutional delegation, which was adopted after an intense debate out of “institutional respect and respect for citizens.”
Therefore, in addition to the Podemos deputies, the parliamentarians of IU, common (except Pisarello), Compromís, Més per Mallorca and those of Podemos will not be present, as their respective formations have outlined.
Of course, Sumar sources emphasized that they are a “republican” political option and consider that the head of the State should not have a “hereditary nature”, but should “be subject to the principle of popular sovereignty.” Pisarello himself said this week at a press conference that he will attend the event with “republican dignity.”
