Eduardo González
The electoral program of Sumar, the left-wing political movement led by the second vice-president of the Government, Yolanda Díaz, calls for Spain to play “a more active role in mediation and peaceful and dialogued resolution of conflicts” and pledges to strengthen “the diplomatic path to achieve a just and lasting peace” in Ukraine and to “quickly reverse” the change of position adopted in 2022 by the Government of Pedro Sánchez with respect to Western Sahara.
These are some of the points on foreign policy of A program for you, the document that collects the electoral proposals of Sumar. Among the promises of Diaz’s party, it defends “a more active role” of Spain “in mediation and peaceful and dialogued resolution in conflicts in which Spanish diplomacy has an added value, such as those of Western Sahara, Palestine, Colombia, Haiti, Ukraine or Sahel” through, among other measures, “the creation of a mediation and conflict resolution unit within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs” and the promotion of “an international mediation network with the prominent participation of global civil society and non-state actors”.
Sumar also asks Spain to “defend an autonomous Europe with its own voice in the world” through “the progressive displacement of NATO’s security guarantees towards an integral strategic autonomy at the service of European citizenship and not of the arms industry, a European security space subject to democratic control”, which develops the guarantees derived from the Treaty of the European Union and which “includes among its priority objectives the respect for human rights, as well as the social and environmental welfare of European countries and their neighboring areas”.
Sumar is also committed to “abandoning the requirement of unanimity in foreign policy and common security” and is committed to “a peaceful, autonomous and critical dialogue with China, in defense of our interests and principles, but away from any military fickleness, through an active and demanding diplomacy to avoid confrontation between great powers”.
The formation of Yolanda Diaz also supports “renewed relations and a new progressive agenda with Latin America”, including the strengthening of “links with progressive Latin American governments to promote shared agendas for progress in international and Ibero-American forums, accompanying the Latin American regional integration process”, and the promotion of the “framework for political dialogue between the European Union and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), promoting the holding of an annual Summit and reorienting priorities towards the fight against inequality, the climate emergency and feminicides”.
Palestine, Sahara, Ukraine
Sumar also supports “a new strategic relationship with our Southern Neighborhood” and calls for “a just solution for Western Sahara, Palestine and Ukraine”. In this sense, Diaz’s party commits itself to “quickly reverse the change of position adopted in 2022 with respect to Western Sahara” and to use “all channels of influence in the conflict to fully support the right to self-determination of the people of Western Sahara, within the United Nations, promoting the work of MINURSO, and both in regional bodies and in bilateral relations with its Southern Neighborhood”. It will also defend the constitution of “a working committee on the historical responsibility of Spain towards the Saharawi people, which should draw up a report on the measures to apply the principles of truth, justice, reparation and non-repetition in relation to the present situation of the Saharawi people and the historical responsibility of the Spanish state”.
Sumar will also bet “for the strict compliance with international law in Palestine to put an end to the occupation and apartheid practices suffered by its populations” and will advocate “for effective policies to move towards the recognition of the Palestinian state, always taking into consideration the will of the Palestinian civil society”. It also pledges to continue “comprehensive solidarity with Ukraine” and to strengthen “the diplomatic track to achieve, when circumstances permit, a just and lasting peace aligned with the aspirations of the Ukrainian people and with the resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly.” “We will strengthen humanitarian aid to Ukraine and we will bet on a reconstruction plan based on aid and not on loans, oriented to the welfare of the Ukrainian majorities and not to the profit of large multinationals”, it adds.
The leftist formation also defends “a modern and democratic foreign service” by reordering “the priorities of Spanish foreign policy, giving priority to issues such as equality, diversity, climate issues and peace building”, and giving “to our foreign policy as a whole a capacity for proactive and dynamic anticipation, as well as greater coherence and coordination with the actors involved in the foreign agenda”. In addition, it commits to “democratize the diplomatic career with a scholarship system to fully reflect the diversity existing in Spanish society and to guarantee that social origin and gender do not limit the possibilities of entry”.
Other Sumar points in terms of external action include the promotion of “a Climate International that drives the decarbonization of the economy, the provision of renewable energy, global climate justice and the fulfillment of the commitments of the Paris Agreement and the European Green Pact”, support for “a profound restructuring of the United Nations system and agencies such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to make them more transparent bodies, provide them with operational capacity and accountability mechanisms” and the defense of “a complete overhaul of the international peace and security architecture, including the UN Security Council, given its manifest inability to respond to conflicts such as those in Ukraine, Yemen, Ethiopia or the Democratic Republic of Congo, among many others”.
