Complutense suspends Podemos co-founder Monedero for one year over sexist harassment, which he denies and appeals

The sanction

The Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) has sanctioned Juan Carlos Monedero with a one-year suspension from his teaching duties for a 'very serious' sexist harassment offence. The internal disciplinary file (reference 8/2025) was opened in February 2025 after a student reported the professor under the university's protocol against sexual and sexist harassment. Monedero had already completed six months of preventive suspension, so the remaining ban amounts to half a year.

Monedero's denial

Monedero, through his lawyer Aina Díaz, issued a statement asserting that the alleged conduct never took place.

“The expressions and conduct reported for which he has been sanctioned never existed. The one-year suspension comes after an administrative procedure full of violations of fundamental and procedural rights.”

He argues that more than ten student testimonies from the course in question, and from previous and later years, deny the alleged incidents and consider them incompatible with his teaching style.

Political accusation

Monedero claims the complaint was filed by 'a local PP militant and leader in the Community of Madrid with direct links to the top figure of the ultra association Libertad sin ira.' He points out that the group had been demanding his expulsion from the university for his lectures in Venezuela. The complaint, he notes, was lodged a full year after the complainant finished her studies and on the same day Nicolás Maduro was sworn in as Venezuelan president. Monedero also says the procedure attempted, by repeatedly citing him, to implicate another Podemos founder – an allusion to Pablo Iglesias.

Separate investigations

Parallel to the harassment case, a vice-rector of the Complutense filed a complaint accusing Monedero of a very serious breach of his job duties related to consultancy trips to Venezuela and other countries, even though he had official compatibility with teaching. Additionally, he faced a complaint from the president of the Manos Limpias group. The criminal side of the harassment case was previously archived by the Madrid Provincial Prosecutor's Office in June 2025, which found no evidence of a crime against moral integrity, though judicial sources described the alleged conduct as 'improper', 'out of place' and 'morally reprehensible'.

University and student reactions

The university declined to comment, citing data protection rules:

“In accordance with current data protection regulations, the university does not provide or confirm personal data relating to third parties.”

Reports indicate student complaints over Monedero's return to campus in November 2025, and some students filed written objections demanding his removal, preferring anonymity for fear of reprisals. The sanction, signed in May 2026 but made public now, effectively ends Monedero's classroom presence for another six months.