Podemos

Podemos is a Spanish political party situated between the left and the far left of the political spectrum. It was founded on 17 January 2014, by political scientist Pablo Iglesias Turrión, who also served as its general secretary from then until 5 May 2021, being succeeded by Ione Belarra on June 13 of that year.

Podemos emerged in the context of the economic crisis of the early 2010s and picked up where the 15M Movement (2011) left off. It experienced a brief period of media and social growth. Its first electoral battle was the European elections of May 2014, where Podemos won five seats (out of fifty-four) with 7.98% of the vote, making it the fourth most voted party in Spain. Subsequently, in the municipal and regional elections of May 2015, Podemos and its associated parties achieved notable results throughout Spain.

Their next major step was the general election of December 2015, where their lists obtained 20.68% of the vote and sixty-nine seats in Parliament. Their entry into Congress contributed to the breakdown of the two-party system. In the 2016 general election, Podemos led the Unidas Podemos electoral coalition along with other parties, primarily the United Left party. Podemos ran under this banner in the two general elections of 2019 (April and November). Based on the results of these latter elections, from January 2020 to November 2023, Podemos was one of the parties that formed part of the Spanish government, following an agreement between Unidas Podemos and the PSOE.

After losing most of its territorial representation in the May 2023 municipal and regional elections,[58] Podemos agreed to run in the July general elections with the new electoral coalition Sumar. In December 2023, Podemos broke away from Sumar and proclaimed its political and electoral independence.

Although Podemos has been accused of having links to Chavismo since its inception, these accusations resurfaced in 2024 due to the support given by Podemos members, such as Juan Carlos Monedero and Irene Montero, to the results of the 2024 Venezuelan presidential elections (which were accused of fraud by the Venezuelan opposition and part of the international community).

Secretary-General: Pablo Iglesias Turrión (2014 – 2021), Ione Belarra (2021 – present)