A series of allegations emerged in Spain throughout 2024 to 2026, concerning the involvement of Spanish politicians and other prominent media figures in cases of gender-based violence and sexual harassment and assault.
Starting in October 2024 with allegations of sexual misconduct against the former Podemos political party founder and Sumar politician Íñigo Errejón, public focus shifted to multiple cases affecting various other parties, such as the ruling Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (most notably over the "Salazar affair" in July and December 2025, concerning allegations taking place in the prime minister's office), and the People's Party, which ruled in most of the country's autonomous communities at the time (with the "Móstoles affair" receiving broad coverage in February 2026). Alleged cases of sexual misconduct emerging during this period also involved politicians from the Vox and Together for Catalonia parties, the late Prime Minister Adolfo Suárez, or singer Julio Iglesias.
While most cases were independent and unconnected to each other, and some did not result in successful criminal proceedings nor in complaints being filed, the sudden emergence of allegations during this period drew comparisons to the sexual misconduct allegations that led up to the MeToo movement, triggering a cascade of resignations and dismissals while highlighting structural flaws in the internal management of political parties and other institutions, a lack of effective prevention mechanisms, non-compliance with internal anti-harassment protocols, and the persistence of a "culture of silence".
First wave of allegations (October 2024) Errejón affair
On 24 October 2024, former Podemos founder and Sumar spokesperson in the Congress of Deputies, Íñigo Errejón, published a letter on X where he announced his abandonment of institutional politics, leaving his Congress seat and all his political responsibilities. This followed an anonymous accusation made two days earlier on journalist Cristina Fallarás's Instagram account, where an unnamed personality (later revealed to be him) was accused of sexually harassing several women.
The following day, on 25 October, actress Elisa Mouliaá filed a complaint against Errejón for sexual assault based on events that allegedly took place in September 2021. Based on the accusation, the press uncovered other alleged, anonymous accounts. On 29 October, public figure Aída Nízar claimed to have filed a harassment complaint against Errejón in 2015, though this was later archived due to the alleged crime having expired under the statute of limitations.
The Errejón affair unleashed a political crisis between political parties Sumar and Podemos, as suspicions of a cover-up during the middle of the electoral campaign for the 2023 general election about harassment in Castellón emerged. The leader of the Sumar alliance (also the second deputy prime minister and labour minister of Spain) Yolanda Díaz, apologised for their delay in acting against Errejón, claiming that she had personally ordered the late deputy to stand down as soon as he acknowledged "sexist and degrading attitudes to women". The affair also saw Más Madrid dismissing regional deputy Loreto Arenillas, the party's spokesperson for feminism and Errejón's former chief of staff, after accusing her of allegedly attempting to cover-up the scandal. The party's guarantees committee later ruled Arenillas's dismissal as unlawful, with the party acknowledging in March 2025 that it acted wrongly with Arenillas, who ultimately vacated her Assembly seat.
Judicial proceedings against Errejón over the Mouliaá's case continued throughout 2025 and became a recurring focus of media interest, owing to a number of revelations including the declaration by two witnesses that the actress pressured them to endorse her version of events against Errejón, a lawsuit from Errejón against Mouliaá for alleged slander after she accused him of extorting these witnesses, and the contradictory versions of both Errejón and Mouliaá during the investigation. On 14 November 2025, the investigating judge proposed bringing Errejón to trial, considering that there was "evidence" that he sexually assaulted Mouliaá; Errejón's defense appealed the decision on the grounds that the actress had allegedly committed perjury and accusing her of making money on television by telling the story of her lawsuit. The prosecutor's office in Madrid announced on 17 December 2025 that it would not charge Errejón for the alleged sexual assault and would request the closure of the case. On 4 February 2026, Mouliaá announced the withdrawal of her complaint against Errejón citing alleged "health reasons", though she retracted this decision on 10 February.
On 25 February 2026, it was revealed that a second actress had filed a complaint against Errejón for another alleged sexual assault. This second complaint was archived on 13 March because the alleged victim did not ratify it within the legal deadline, owing to her being "an actress of recognized public notoriety and projection" who wanted to remain anonymous.
Incidents in Andalusia On 23 October 2024, a local police official in Estepona filed a complaint for an alleged crime of sexual harassment against the local People's Party (PP) mayor, José María García Urbano, who responded by framing it as a false accusation. The complaint was extended to cover an alleged crime of embezzlement after it transpired that Urbano had employed the police official's wife, allegedly a witness to the harassment. The investigation on the alleged harassment was initially closed on 27 January 2025 over exchanged messages between Urbano and the alleged victim revealing "full consent", but it was reopened in June 2025, this time over an alleged gender-based violence crime, as the victims claimed their consent was out of fear of possible reprisals from Urbano. Embezzlement charges on the mayor were maintained owing to suspicions that Urbano employeed the person without she ever showing up to work. Urbano reimbursed the city council for the salary paid to his "female friend" (5,200 euros) in November 2025, in what was described as an attempt to lessen any possible penalty for the alleged embezzlement. The investigating judge determined that the disputed hiring was "a mere legal fiction", prompting the prosecutor's office in Marbella to asked for a five-and-a-half-year prison sentence for Urbano in January 2026. Opposition parties in the city council demanded the mayor's resignation for these events, as well as the pending gender-related violence charges.
On 28 October 2024, mayor of Algeciras and PP senator José Ignacio Landaluce was also accused of sexual misconduct against two party's councilwomen, after the publication of several WhatsApp chat screenshots by far-right agitator Alvise Pérez. In December 2025, and amidst increased public scrutiny of sexual misconduct allegations in Spanish politics (a result of the Salazar affair), the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) would file a criminal complaint against Landaluce for embezzlement, influence-peddling and sexual assault; this would prompt Landaluce to temporarily step back from the PP and from the party's parliamentary group in the Senate, while maintaining his "absolute innocence". This specific complaint was archived by the prosecutor's office on 15 January 2026, owing to a lack of evidence to initiate an investigation. On 17 December 2025, new evidence emerged questioning Landaluce's handling of the case, including a fellow party member's alleged attempts to pressure one of the victims to feign a mental disorder and retract her statements. The revelations caused discomfort among the PP's ranks, who hoped for Landaluce to voluntarily step aside from the Algeciras mayorship and "avoid further problems for the party". The PP's spokesperson in the Senate, Alicia García, commented on Landaluce's situation that, owing to his resignation both from the party's membership and parliamentary group, she and her party had "nothing further to add on this matter". On 19 December, Landaluce filed a complaint against Alvise Pérez after the latter threatened him on social media with releasing further information about sexual harassment and abuse of power if he did not resign.
On 2 December 2024, the former Vox spokesperson in Huércal de Almería, Arturo Ramón Torres Escamilla, was tried for two alleged counts of sexual assault against a minor—one of them continuous—for events that occurred between 2019 and 2021. On 9 January 2025, the media reported that Torres Escamilla had been found guilty on both counts, sentenced to nine years in prison and ordered to pay 25,000 euros in compensation to the victim.
Allegations trickle in (early-to-mid 2025) On 31 January 2025, it was revealed that a former political advisor to Together for Catalonia (Junts) had filed a formal complaint to the European Parliament against Toni Comín, elected MEP, for alleged sexual and psychological harassment taking place until the chamber's 2024 election. Comín branded the accusations as unfounded and aimed at damaging him politically, while Junts opened an internal investigation on the issue. On 17 March 2026, the Parliament found the presented evidence as "credible" and "sufficient" for a judicial investigation, while offering to cover the victim's costs of taking the case to court. The next day, it emerged that the Junts party had suspended the internal investigation on Comín in February (despite being aware of the Parliament's resolution upholding the victim's complaint), as well as providing the MEP with the victim's written statements and other confidential information.
On 4 June 2025, the Sea minister of the Galician government, Alfonso Villares, resigned from his post over a judicial investigation for alleged sexual assault following a complaint—filed several months earlier—from television presenter Paloma Lago. In his farewell, Villares asserted his innocence, but claimed that his resignation came over a desire to focus his efforts on defending himself, as well as to renounce the legal immunity granted by his cabinet post. On 22 December, the investigating court archived the case and sent it to the provincial court of A Coruña to issue a final decision.
Francisco "Paco" Salazar, an aide to the prime minister of Spain and a prominent PSOE member (which was about to take on the party's organization secretary role following the resignation of its former holder—Santos Cerdán—over the Koldo case), resigned from his posts on 5 July 2025 after allegations of sexual harassment by a number of former women subordinates, which caused significant outrage and public backlash at a time when the Spanish government was being hit by a number of scandals. The then government's spokesperson (also a PSOE member), Pilar Alegría, claimed that her party "totally" rejected "sexist behaviours", while announcing that the PSOE would "vigorously" take measures against them.
Second wave of allegations (December 2025) Salazar affair and "PSOE's MeToo"