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 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 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 to the family company Sumelzo S.A. and the UCO’s scrutiny
The root of the controversy can be traced to public works contracts granted to the Aragonese construction company Sumelzo S.A., associated with the Secretary of State’s father and brother. As reported by The Objective, since Sánchez took office at La Moncloa, the company has secured contracts worth approximately 16 million euros in recent years through the Ebro River Basin Authority and other agencies under Socialist-led ministries, with the majority awarded during Teresa Ribera’s period 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.
Explored plans include intertwined headquarters and family enterprises
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, 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.
One more unsolved problem 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 key lies in three elements:
- The investigations carried out by the UCO and the National Court into the networks of public contracts linked to companies related to the Sumelzo family.
- Possible future judicial decisions that could either restrict liabilities or, on the other hand, broaden the scope of the cases.
- The political response from Moncloa and the PSOE, both in terms of accepting responsibilities and implementing reforms to mechanisms designed to prevent conflicts of interest.
In the meantime, Susana Sumelzo maintains her role and claims that her political career is completely independent from her family’s business endeavors.