Spain's Podemos ousts IU coordinator in Balearics over alleged sexual abuse

Podemos removes IU Balearics coordinator after ten complaints

Juanjo Martínez, General Coordinator of Izquierda Unida (IU) in the Balearic Islands, will officially cease to be a member of the board of directors of Empresa Municipal de Transportes (EMT) at the next plenary session of the Palma City Council. This decision trinc accusations by at least ten women on social media regarding alleged sensual abuse, as reported by the Instagram account 'Abusos_Balears'. Podemos, which had appointed him to this position as its representative, has withdrawn its confidence and processed his immediate dismissal. Martínez himself has declined to make any statements for the time being.

Allegations and party response

The accounts, initially shared anonymously, describe a man who allegedly used his organizational position to seduce, pressure, and in some cases abuse female activists. One complainant uses a term she says he employed himself: "vaginal affiliation." Another states she suffered an anxiety attack seeing him hold a banner at a feminist demonstration. "Years pass, but I still hesitate about going to marches," she recounts. The testimonies point not only to the accused but also to an environment that, according to the accusers, protected him. "The party's feminist assemblies discussed the issue, yet even the women themselves did not believe the stories," claims a former activist.

Lucía Muñoz, a Podemos councilor in Cort (Palma), emphasized that Martínez is not a member of her formation but of Izquierda Unida, and stated that she personally contacted the complainants to offer support. The dismissal will be presented this Wednesday before the Governing Board of the Palma City Council.

Pattern described in testimonies

The accounts depict a modus operandi repeated over years. "He treated me like just another piece in his machinery, telling me exactly what he knew I wanted to hear to keep me there," one woman says, having discovered weeks after their first meeting that he was in a relationship. Others claim contact did not stop when they tried to distance themselves: messages with sensual insinuations even years later, while he was in a relationship. "A true wolf in sheep's clothing," summarizes one of them.

According to these accounts, the abuse also had a transactional dimension. "He offered job opportunities, contracts with flexible hours and quality of life, provided you played by his rules," asserts an activist who later discovered she was not the only one receiving such proposals. A person who accompanied one of the women to file an internal complaint maintains that the accused had a party lawyer and a prepared strategy: "His defense was impeccable. Ours was improvised."

Internal silence and shadow over the party

Several women attempted to alert others within the organization, but according to their testimonies, cover-up was systematic. "It's not one or two. Unfortunately, many of us have suffered his modus operandi," says one of them, claiming to know at least six cases firsthand. Another received a veiled warning when trying to report him: "To avoid harming the left-wing space, victims are indirectly silenced."

A man who accompanied one of the affected individuals states that "it was common knowledge, but nobody did anything." He speaks of parties where alcohol flowed uncontrollably and leadership based on charisma but also antiestéticar. "We men must help dismantle this system that systematically mistreats women simply for being women," he adds.

Without a formal complaint, the case has not yet reached the justice system. However, the testimonies expose a reality that, according to those recounting it, would have been repeated in activist spaces where hierarchy and dependence on positions hinder reporting.

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Key facts

• At least ten women have accused Juanjo Martínez on social media of alleged sensual abuse.
• One complainant claims to know at least six cases firsthand.
• The dismissal will be presented at the next plenary session of the Palma City Council, trinc Podemos' decision last week.
• Martínez held a seat on the EMT board of directors representing Podemos.