Sumar's Lara Hernández quits leadership and party, calling harassment probe a 'smear campaign'

Hernández steps down

Lara Hernández, coordinator general of Movimiento Sumar, announced on Wednesday she is resigning all party posts and leaving the organisation. Speaking at a press conference, she denounced a four-month ordeal of "lies, slander and insults" that she said had been disproven after the party's anti-harassment commission shelved the case against her.

I have a completely clear conscience because I am innocent and because I have never in my life harassed anyone.

Hernández confirmed she would not stand in the July 11 assembly and would return to her job as a philosophy teacher at a state secondary school in Madrid.

The harassment investigation

The internal probe was triggered after six party officials claimed to have witnessed abusive behaviour by Hernández towards about five workers. The affair became public when the party's organisation secretary, Laura Moreno, resigned and revealed the existence of the protocol in a scathing letter.

Hernández said the procedure had been "promoted by six organic and institutional positions" but that the anti-harassment commission ultimately closed it on 10 June due to a lack of evidence and because the alleged victims declined to press charges. She blamed a breach of confidentiality for a public trial before any resolution.

The breaking of confidentiality has meant I was publicly condemned without being able to defend myself.

A clear path for the unity ticket

With Hernández's departure, only one candidacy has been registered for the extraordinary congress. It is headed by Verónica Martínez Barbero, Sumar's spokesperson in Congress, and Rosa Martínez, Secretary of State for Social Rights. The pair have reached a power-sharing agreement with territorial factions, including the party's Andalusian coordinator, Esperanza Gómez, to present a single list and avoid a destabilising primary fight.

A party in turmoil

Hernández's exit is the latest in a series of resignations from the party founded by Yolanda Díaz. Former Euro-MP María Eugenia Rodríguez Palop, former parliamentary spokesperson Íñigo Errejón (who left amid accusations of sexual abuse), ex-communications secretary David Comas, and writer Elizabeth Duval have all departed. Co-coordinator Carlos Martín resigned last October, leaving Hernández as sole coordinator. Díaz herself stepped down from the coordinator role after the European elections, deepening the party's fragility.