Six internal complaints against Lugo provincial president

Internal complaints corner Lugo provincial council president

Six women have filed sensual harassment complaints against José Tomé, president of the Fruta de Lugo (Lugo Provincial Council), mayor of Monforte, provincial secretary of the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) in Lugo, and member of the party's Federal Committee since 2021. The complaints were submitted through the party's internal reporting channel, with one alleging that Tomé told her she "had to sleep with him if she wanted a civil service position at the Monforte town hall." The leader denies the facts and has announced he will sue the television program that revealed them.

The case is not just a sensual harassment complaint. It is, above all, an indictment of how public positions are distributed. The accusations describe an explicit quid pro quo: jobs in exchange for sensual favors, obscene messages, and non-consensual touching, according to collected testimonies. The shadow this casts on the civil service examination system is hard to overstate.

What exactly do the complainants say?

One complaint states that Tomé "has been sensual harassing many women across the entire province of Lugo for some time," adding that it does not matter whether the victim is a party member, supporter, councilor, employee, mayor, journalist, or deputy. Another describes "obscene and dirty" messages, photos, and touching during meetings. A third recounts the direct offer: becoming a permanent or interim civil servant in exchange for sens.

The pattern depicted by these accounts shares a common element: a sense of impunity. "He believes he is immune, and rightly so, because many of us women who suffered this complained to other party officials and no one did anything," one complainant argues. According to their version, complaints were minimized with arguments that the leader "is just like that" or that the victim was exaggerating.

Who knew what and when?

Up to three complainants assert that José Ramón Gómez Besteiro, general secretary of the Galician PSOE, former mayor of Lugo Lara Méndez, and provincial organization secretary Pilar García were aware of the accusations. Besteiro stated he has no knowledge of "any complaint from any colleague" and does not have access to the internal channel. When asked, Méndez first claimed ignorance and then refused to refute the complainants. García assured that no one had filed a complaint with her and considered it inappropriate to ask if she trusted Tomé: "It is not a matter of faith, but of evidence."

The case broke after the scandal involving Francisco Salazar, an advisor at La Moncloa (the Spanish Prime Minister's office), due to similar accusations. That episode, marked by months of institutional silence, prompted the affected women in Lugo to take action.

The hole in the merit-based recruitment narrative

The issue touches a sensitive nerve: if a civil service position can be negotiated in an office, the discourse of merit and capacity crumbles. Those who have spent years studying syllabi see their efforts competing with a parallel path that appears in no official gazette. The suspicion is not new, but a formal complaint gives it substance.

Some argue the case is an internal score-settling between factions within the party in Lugo, with a new provincial council president waiting in the wings. Others see simple, textbook local caciquism (political bossism). What is certain is that the PSOE's complaint channel exists, works, and has received six written reports. That alone is data.

What happens now with Tomé?

The leader retains his position and has chosen the judicial route against the program that aired the testimonies. According to Besteiro, the party's anti-harassment protocol will be applied "with rigor" if the complaints are confirmed. No one has resigned. No one has been suspended. The internal investigation remains open, and as of this discussion, the outcome is unknown.

The lingering question is not whether the protocol works. It is how many public positions have been awarded through channels not listed in official calls, and how many female candidates have competed against someone whose place was already decided before they even sat for the exam.