At the doorstep of the bilateral summit between Spain and Brazil and the meeting that will bring a dozen progressive leaders to Barcelona this weekend, women take the floor this afternoon in Valencia. In an unthinkable image a few months ago due to the vetoes that have operated in the space of the so-called transformative left for years, Podemos MEP Irene Montero, the United Left minister Sira Rego, the former Valencian vice president of Compromís, Mónica Oltra, and the Brazilian first lady, Janja Lula da Silva, chat together this Thursday in a colloquium under the motto “No to war, no to political violence, for an ecofeminist world,” essential issues at a time when Trump challenges the international order with his war in the Middle East, and about which these four prominent left-wing figures have personal and political experience to share.
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The meeting comes amid the debate about the reconstruction of the political space for the general elections, after the ups and downs with Podemos over its agreement in Andalusia — there was a pact, but with criticism from Belarra’s organization — and a week after Montero, singled out by her party to lead a candidacy in 2027, has pushed the idea of a coalition with Gabriel Rufián, ERC spokesperson in Congress. An option that her party’s leadership rules out.
This is the first time that the Podemos leader shares a format with a minister from the Sumar Government (Rego) and marks the return to the political front line of Mónica Oltra, who announced a few weeks ago her intention to run for mayor of Valencia, despite the campaign possibly coinciding with her trial for the alleged cover-up of sexual abuse of a minor under guardianship, committed by her ex-husband between 2016 and 2017, when he was an educator in a religious center with publicly funded places. A case in which she has always defended her innocence, denounces as lawfare (a topic debated this afternoon) and which led her in 2022 to step down from her position in the Generalitat.
“More than a space for reflection, this meeting is born with the will to generate positioning, weave alliances, and contribute to the construction of an international political agenda committed to peace, the eradication of political violence, and the defense of life from an ecofeminist perspective,” states the press release issued by the organization. A way to also counteract — as will the events this weekend promoted by the Socialist International, the Progressive Alliance, and the Party of European Socialists — the postulates of the reactionary alliance, which holds meetings around the world to spread its ultraconservative ideology. The University of Valencia is the institution responsible for hosting an event also promoted by the Colectivo de Mulheres Brasileiras na Diáspora.
