Susana Sumelzo, currently serving as the Secretary of State for Ibero-America and a Socialist leader historically aligned with Pedro Sánchez, has seen her role shift rapidly from institutional discretion to becoming a focal point of media attention. Various press articles have spotlighted public contracts awarded to companies linked to her family and her connections to firms under investigation in the so-called “Koldo case” and the alleged network involving Santos Cerdán, which has reignited the debate on potential conflicts of interest within 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.
Contracts with the family enterprise Sumelzo S.A. and the UCO’s investigation
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 range from adaptation and maintenance works on irrigation canals to major projects such as the Valdeliberola collector, with a budget of 10 million euros, whose award ultimately went to Sumelzo S.A. after the contract was withdrawn from a different company that had initially won the tender.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.
Explored plans include intertwined headquarters and family enterprises
The controversy has been further fueled by additional “corporate coincidences” brought to light by media outlets such as El Debate, El Español, and Esdiario. On one hand, investigative reports disclose that Sumelzo S.A.’s headquarters in Zaragoza share the same building with Soluciones de Gestión S.L., a key company involved in the face-mask scheme linked to former minister José Luis Ábalos and the Koldo case.
In addition, a company belonging to Susana Sumelzo’s father or a cousin is said to have shared its registered office with Servinabar, the company of Santos Cerdán that is under investigation for allegedly taking 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 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.
Yet another open question 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 key lies in three elements:
- The evolution of investigations by the UCO and the National Court into the networks of public contracts in which companies linked to the Sumelzo family appear.
- Possible future judicial decisions, which could either narrow down responsibilities or, on the contrary, broaden the scope of the cases.
- The political response from Moncloa and the PSOE, both in terms of assuming responsibilities and in terms of reforms to mechanisms designed to prevent 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.