Nacho Álvarez resigns from being minister and leaves his positions in Podemos: "The current leadership has lost confidence in me"

He emphasizes that the parties are not due to their leaders or militants but to the citizens

The Secretary of State for Social Rights, Nacho Álvarez, announced this Friday that he is resigning from being a minister, as Sumar had proposed, and that he is resigning from all his positions in Podemos: "It is evident that the current leadership of Podemos has lost the trust that placed in me when he appointed me as a member of the Executive," he explained in a letter to the Podemos militancy published on social networks.

"In my political culture it is not conceivable to accept a position outside the organization of which one is a part," added Álvarez, thanking at the same time the trust placed in him by the leader of Sumar, Yolanda Díaz, who this Friday has offered him a ministry in the next Government, although it is a decision that Podemos "does not support."

"I appreciate the trust that Yolanda Díaz places in me, but I cannot accept being a Government Minister if the leadership of my organization does not approve," he highlighted in his message on social networks.

In his letter, Álvarez reviews his work in the training where he has worked "with effort, enthusiasm and commitment" in a project that, as he has indicated, "has been transcendental in understanding the changes that have occurred in politics during the last ten years."

In this sense, he wanted to highlight the "crucial" role that Podemos has played in "redefining and oxygenating the Spanish political map" that put an end to the two-party system and has stressed that he feels "proud" to have been part of that history.

However, Álvarez has also admitted to having had on several occasions "relevant differences" with the Podemos leadership, which he has always conveyed to the management bodies. "I believe that true loyalty to a political project involves seeking the common points that unite us, honestly expressing differences to work on them and doing so in the management bodies, not in the media," he launched.

That said, he has emphasized the loss of confidence in him on the part of the current leadership, which is why he has considered that "the most honest thing is to step aside and resign" from all his positions in the party, leaving both the Secretariat of Economy such as the State Citizen Council and the Executive.

Thus, he has announced that he will return to work as an economics professor at the Autonomous University of Madrid as soon as his term at the head of the Secretary of State concludes "in the coming days" and then also thank Pablo Iglesias and the general secretary of Podemos, Ione Belarra, the trust placed in him.

In his opinion, the main strength of the progressive and leftist forces "is through unity" and "fraternity" between the projects. "The parties do not owe themselves to their leaders or their militants, but fundamentally to the citizens they aspire to represent," he added in his text.

Finally, Álvarez has announced that he will continue working to "promote equality, freedom and a more just and equitable society."

The resignation of Nacho Álvarez is the third departure from a Podemos executive position since September after Sofía Castañón, who left the Ministry of Culture, and Alejandra Jacinto who held the Ministry of Housing.

"AT THE FEET OF THE HORSES"

The leader of Podemos, Ione Belarra, has reacted to this news, expressing her "enormous sadness" at Álvarez's resignation and has criticized that her party does not deserve Sumar's "stratagems." "They put our people at the feet of horses," she has expressed on social networks.

This reaction comes precisely after Díaz sent a document to the party leadership in which he proposed that Álvarez enter the Government for the Podemos quota and that the party committed to stopping the "attacks and insults", something that has been criticized. by Belarra upon seeing a strategy between Díaz and Pedro Sánchez to "justify that they are kicked out" of the coalition government. Furthermore, Podemos has been claiming that Irene Montero is their option to be present in the Government.

The former Secretary of State for Social Rights was a bet for Díaz as a minister, having previously led Sumar's negotiating team for the programmatic coalition agreement with Sumar and served as economic spokesperson for the coalition in the campaign.

Thus, the distance between Álvarez and the leadership was reflected in the current coalition pact, from which the purple ones distanced themselves and complained that they had not been informed of the details of the negotiation, something that the former leader himself replied by assuring that all parties were aware.

PROFILE OF NACHO ÁLVAREZ

Professor in the Department of Economic Structure of the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM), Álvarez began his political career when he joined Podemos, becoming one of the party's leaders by occupying the party's Secretary of Economy in 2014.

With a technical profile and usually far from the political dispute, in the midst of a clash ahead of the 2017 Citizen Assembly known as 'Vistalegre II', together with former leader Carolina Bescansa, he promoted a third way to try to promote unity, in the midst of a clash between sectors of former leader Pablo Iglesias and Íñigo Errejó, when he was a member of the party.

When his initiative failed, Álvarez, together with Bescansa, then decided to resign from his position and not join any list for said congress, but Iglesias recovered him almost instantly and gave him a position as a permanent guest in the purple executive, so that he could continue holding the plot. of Economy.

The former vice president also turned to him when the coalition government between PSOE and Unidas Podemos was formed in 2019 by appointing him as Secretary of State for Social Rights, a task that continued when the current leader of Podemos, Ione Belarra, was appointed Minister of Social Rights.

In the last Citizen Assembly of the party he was elected a member of the Citizen Council and maintained his position as Secretary of Economy in the Executive of Belarra, a position from which he resigned this Friday.