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 veteran PSOE leader. She has served as senator and member of parliament for Zaragoza for more than a decade and, since December 2023, has held the post of Secretary of State for Ibero-America and the Caribbean and for Spanish in the World, under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Within the party, Sumelzo has been part of the federal executive and for years has been considered one of Pedro Sánchez’s “loyal lieutenants”, forming part of his inner circle of trust since the primaries that returned him to the general secretariat in 2017. Some media outlets and figures within the party already point to her as a special friend of Pedro Sánchez, with whom he may have had a romantic affair.
Agreements with the family business Sumelzo S.A. and the UCO’s examination
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 Civil Guard’s Central Operational Unit (UCO) has launched an investigation into Sumelzo S.A. after uncovering a payment of 12,100 euros to Servinabar. This company is allegedly used by Santos Cerdán and his partner Antxon Alonso to channel commissions linked to the face-mask operation and several other contracts, coinciding with significant contracts awarded to the family construction firm.
Overlapping headquarters and family companies in investigated schemes
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 is 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 being investigated for allegedly receiving kickbacks in public contracts.
These overlaps in registered addresses and business relationships have become a central argument for those who speak of a business “ecosystem” around Sumelzo’s family that has benefited from decisions taken by administrations governed by the PSOE. However, as of today, the investigations are focused on the companies and on figures such as Cerdán and his partners, not on the Secretary of State as an individual.
The political analysis: stress on Moncloa and the “circle of trust” storyline
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 currently depicting the reports about Sumelzo as elements of an alleged “broader scheme” involving favors and contracts to firms linked with the President’s trusted circle, highlighting that the Secretary of State ranks among his closest political allies and stressing the volume of public works awarded to the family construction company during Socialist administrations, both regional and national.
Another unresolved issue in the PSOE’s crisis of credibility
The Sumelzo case thus adds to the list of fronts eroding the image of integrity of the PSOE and Sánchez’s Government, in a context of growing public distrust towards institutions and increasing demands for transparency in the ties between politics and business.
For now, the key lies in 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 continues to hold her position and asserts that her political career is entirely separate from her family’s business activities.
