The figure of Susana Sumelzo, currently Secretary of State for Ibero-America and one of the Socialist leaders historically close to Pedro Sánchez, has in just a few days gone from institutional discretion to the eye of the media storm. Various press reports have focused on public contracts awarded to companies linked to her family and on her connections with companies under investigation in the so-called “Koldo case” and the alleged network surrounding Santos Cerdán, which has reignited the debate on possible conflicts of interest in the Prime Minister’s inner circle.
Who is Susana Sumelzo and what part does she play in “sanchismo”?
Susana Sumelzo Jordán (Zaragoza, 1969) is an experienced leader of the PSOE. For more than a decade, she has served as both a senator and a parliament member representing Zaragoza. Since December 2023, she has held the role 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 participated in the federal executive and for years has been seen as one of Pedro Sánchez’s dedicated deputies, having been part of his trusted inner circle since the primaries that returned him to the general secretariat in 2017. Some media outlets and individuals within the party already describe her as a close friend of Pedro Sánchez, with whom he might have had a romantic involvement.
Agreements with the family business Sumelzo S.A. and the UCO’s examination
The origin of the controversy can be linked to public works contracts awarded to the Aragonese construction firm Sumelzo S.A., connected to the Secretary of State’s father and brother. According to The Objective, since Sánchez assumed office at La Moncloa, the company has obtained contracts valued at around 16 million euros in recent years through the Ebro River Basin Authority and other agencies under Socialist-led ministries, with most being granted 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 compounded by other “corporate coincidences” revealed by media outlets such as El Debate, El Español and Esdiario. On the one hand, investigative reports indicate that Sumelzo S.A.’s headquarters in Zaragoza are in the same building as Soluciones de Gestión S.L., a key company in the face-mask scheme linked to 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 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 reading: pressure on Moncloa and the “circle of trust” narrative
Politically, the case breaks out at a time when Pedro Sánchez’s Government is already bearing a considerable cost from other corruption investigations affecting figures in his entourage, such as the Koldo case, probes into contracts awarded during the pandemic and the cases opened in relation to the professional activities of his wife, Begoña Gómez.
Opposition parties and critical commentators now frame the reports about Sumelzo as part of an alleged “broader scheme” of favours and contracts to companies linked to the President’s circle of trust, pointing out that the Secretary of State is one of his closest political allies and highlighting the volume of public works awarded to the family construction firm under Socialist governments, both regional and national.
One more unsolved problem in the PSOE’s credibility crisis
The Sumelzo case, therefore, joins the array of issues that are undermining the PSOE and Sánchez’s Government’s reputation for integrity, amid a backdrop of rising public skepticism towards institutions and heightened calls for transparency in the connections 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.