Eoghan Gilmartin is a writer, translator, and Jacobin contributor based in Madrid.
Balancing the smooth running of local government with a bold reform agenda, as Zohran Mamdani will have to do in New York, isn’t easy. Spain’s recent experiments with left local governance offer some lessons on how (and how not) to do it.
Three migrant farmworkers died from heatstroke in Spain this summer. Largely ignored by media, their fate illustrates how the effects of the climate crisis are offloaded on the least visible workers.
Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has broken ranks with other NATO leaders as he refused to commit to spending 5 percent of GDP on defense. It’s a welcome move, and a rare voice of dissent from Europe’s rush to remilitarize.
Spain’s left-wing alliance Sumar sought to use high office to deliver workers’ rights and lower the cost of living. During the pandemic, it made progress — but now that the broad-left coalition has no majority, Sumar is struggling to make itself heard.
Morocco is increasingly a focus of European alliance-building and investment, including in illegally occupied Western Sahara. French president Emmanuel Macron is leading moves to normalize the colony, despite rulings by the EU’s own courts.
At least 10,457 migrants died trying to reach Spain’s territory in 2024. The European Union’s crackdown on Mediterranean crossings has diverted African migrants toward the even more perilous Atlantic route, turning the ocean into a mass grave.
At least 95 people died in flash floods in eastern Spain on Tuesday. Far fewer could have died in the Valencia region if its right-wing government had prepared civil protection measures — and if bosses hadn’t insisted that workers come into work.
In Spain, conspiracy theorist Alvise Pérez’s new party just won three seats in the EU Parliament. Its get-out-the-vote operation mainly relied on his own Telegram channel — showing how much the alt-right is outcompeting the Left on social media.
Last Sunday, Spain’s Vox party hosted a rally featuring far-right leaders from around the world, including everyone from Marine Le Pen to Javier Milei. It shows how coordinated the movement is becoming — and how Vox is playing a central role.
Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, seized the initiative this week by slapping down right-wing judicial attacks on his government. But his left-wing allies Sumar seem increasingly overshadowed — and their weak position is exposing divisions in their ranks.
Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez may resign after a judge launched a bogus corruption probe targeting his wife, Begoña Gómez. The case is a farce pushed by far-right lobbyists that shows the need to rein in Spain’s politicized judiciary.
Eighty-five years ago today, Francisco Franco declared victory in the Spanish Civil War. In an interview, historian Paul Preston tells Jacobin about the decisive role that Franco’s sympathizers in the British government played in crushing Spanish democracy.
When the US suspended aid to the main UN aid agency in Gaza, the Spanish government increased its funding. While most Western countries follow a dogged pro-Israel line, left-wing ministers in Spain have been a rare dissenting voice.
Spain’s congress has voted in Socialist leader Pedro Sánchez for a new term as prime minister. His pact with left-wing Sumar and Catalan parties has withstood far-right violence — but must still overcome resistance from conservative activist judges.
After an inconclusive election, Spain’s broad-left coalition can only stay in power with Catalan parties’ help. It’s ready to negotiate an amnesty for Catalan nationalists — but the idea is creating an intense backlash from right-wing activist judges.
Spain’s election didn’t produce the expected right-wing landslide — and offers the Socialists and left-wing Sumar another chance to govern. To form a majority, they’ll need to assemble a wider coalition, based on remaking Spain’s democratic institutions.
Yolanda Díaz’s left-unity Sumar platform is gaining momentum, countering far-right Vox’s rise in the final stretch before today’s election. Left-wing unity and mobilization are crucial to fend off the possibility of a reactionary wave.
A decade ago, Spain was often cited as a rare European country without far-right MPs. But polls for Sunday’s election suggest the Franco-nostalgist Vox party is about to enter national government, after years building its influence over mainstream conservatives.
Spanish deputy prime minister Yolanda Díaz has hailed a unity deal that will see the Left run together in July’s snap election. The deal hasn’t pleased everyone — but it could help keep the far right from power.
After gains for the Right in Sunday’s local and regional contests, Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sánchez has called a snap general election. Yolanda Díaz’s left-wing Sumar project can get a good result — but only if the Left can overcome its damaging splits.