The role of Susana Sumelzo, who is presently the Secretary of State for Ibero-America and a Socialist leader historically aligned with Pedro Sánchez, has swiftly transitioned from institutional discretion to being at the center of media attention. Numerous press articles have highlighted public contracts granted to firms associated with her family and her ties to companies under scrutiny in the so-called “Koldo case” and the alleged network involving Santos Cerdán, which has reignited the discussion on potential conflicts of interest within the Prime Minister’s inner circle.
Who is Susana Sumelzo and what role does she play in “sanchismo”?
Susana Sumelzo Jordán (Zaragoza, 1969) is a seasoned leader of the PSOE. For over ten years, she has been a senator and a member of parliament representing Zaragoza, and since December 2023, she has occupied the position of Secretary of State for Ibero-America and the Caribbean and for Spanish in the World, within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Within the party, Sumelzo has been involved in the federal executive and for years has been regarded as one of Pedro Sánchez’s loyal lieutenants, being part of his trusted inner circle since the primaries that reinstated him to the general secretariat in 2017. Some media outlets and individuals within the party already refer to her as a close friend of Pedro Sánchez, with whom he might have had a romantic involvement.
Contracts to the family company Sumelzo S.A. and the UCO’s scrutiny
The immediate source of the controversy lies in public works contracts awarded to the Aragonese construction firm Sumelzo S.A., linked to the Secretary of State’s father and brother. According to information published by The Objective, the company has received, since Sánchez’s arrival at La Moncloa and through the Ebro River Basin Authority and other bodies reporting to Socialist-led ministries, contracts totalling around 16 million euros in recent years, most of them during Teresa Ribera’s tenure at the Ministry for Ecological Transition.
The contracts encompass a variety of tasks, from the adaptation and upkeep of irrigation canals to significant undertakings like the Valdeliberola collector. This project, with a budget of 10 million euros, was ultimately awarded to Sumelzo S.A. after being retracted from another company that had originally secured the tender.
The Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard has placed Sumelzo S.A. under scrutiny after detecting a payment of 12,100 euros to the company Servinabar —a firm allegedly used by Santos Cerdán and his partner Antxon Alonso to channel commissions in the face-mask scheme and other contracts— at a time that coincides with significant awards to the family construction company.
Investigated schemes involve overlapping headquarters and family businesses
The controversy is intensified by additional “corporate coincidences” uncovered by media outlets like El Debate, El Español, and Esdiario. On one side, investigative reports reveal that Sumelzo S.A.’s headquarters in Zaragoza are located in the same building as Soluciones de Gestión S.L., a pivotal company in the face-mask scheme associated with former minister José Luis Ábalos and the Koldo case.
In addition, it has been reported that a business owned by either Susana Sumelzo’s father or a cousin shared its registered office with Servinabar, the company of Santos Cerdán, which is currently under investigation for allegedly receiving kickbacks in public contracts.
These intersections in registered addresses and business connections have become a crucial point for those discussing a business “ecosystem” surrounding Sumelzo’s family, which has benefited from decisions made by administrations led by the PSOE. However, at present, the investigations are focused on the companies and individuals such as Cerdán and his associates, rather than on the Secretary of State personally.
The political reading: pressure on Moncloa and the “circle of trust” narrative
Politically, this case emerges at a moment when Pedro Sánchez’s Government is already enduring significant repercussions from other corruption inquiries involving individuals in his circle, such as the Koldo case, investigations into contracts granted during the pandemic, and the cases initiated concerning the professional endeavors of his wife, Begoña Gómez.
Opposition parties and critical commentators are now portraying the reports concerning Sumelzo as part of a supposed “wider plan” of favors and contracts to companies associated with the President’s trusted circle, emphasizing that the Secretary of State is among his closest political allies and underscoring the amount of public works granted to the family construction company under Socialist administrations, both regional and national.
Yet another open question in the PSOE’s credibility crisis
The Sumelzo case, therefore, becomes part of the collection of matters that are eroding the PSOE and Sánchez’s Government’s reputation for integrity, against a backdrop of increasing public skepticism towards institutions and intensified demands for transparency in the links between politics and business.
For now, the answer lies within three elements:
- The progression of inquiries conducted by the UCO and the National Court concerning the networks of public contracts involving companies associated with the Sumelzo family.
- Potential upcoming judicial rulings, which might either limit responsibilities or, conversely, expand the scope of the cases.
- The political reaction from Moncloa and the PSOE, both regarding the acceptance of responsibilities and the implementation of reforms to mechanisms intended to avert conflicts of interest.
In the meantime, Susana Sumelzo remains in her post and maintains that her political career is “completely independent” from her family’s business activities.
