Raquel Romero

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(Raquel Romero) DE EXPAT A EMIGRANTE. Monologo de Raquel Romero en la Universidad de Verano 2017 (cropped).jpg

Raquel Romero Alonso (born 8 July 1982) [1] is a Spanish journalist and former politician.

A member of Podemos, she led a joint list with the United Left (IU) that won two seats in the Parliament of La Rioja in the 2019 Riojan regional election. She twice cast the crucial vote against the election of Concha Andreu of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) as President of La Rioja, making the ultimatum that Podemos should hold ministries in her government. The coalition was eventually formed and she was made Minister of Participation, Human Rights and Cooperation.

In 2022, Romero was expelled from Podemos for non-payment of dues, and from the parliamentary group she had made with Henar Moreno of the IU. She did not run in the 2023 Riojan regional election.

Biography

Born in Logroño in La Rioja, Romero graduated in journalism from the University of the Basque Country. [2] She was the editor of the Rioja edition of the Basque-based newspaper El Correo . [3] In 2007, she moved to Berlin, where she joined the overseas sector of Podemos in 2015, taking part in its first abroad convention in Paris that September. [3]

On 16 March 2019, Romero was confirmed as Podemos's lead candidate in the 2019 Riojan regional election, on the decision of the party's national leader, Pablo Iglesias. [3] The decision to not run a primary was unusual for the party, [3] and the previous list leader Germán Cantabrana sued the party, eventually receiving €160,000 in 2021. [4] Running a joint list with the United Left, Romero was elected to the Parliament of La Rioja alongside the latter's leader, Henar Moreno; the group fell from four seats to two. [3]

The support of Romero and Moreno would be needed for a left-wing majority of 17 seats out of 33 and to install Concha Andreu of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) as President of La Rioja, but Romero voted against twice. [2] Negotiating alongside Podemos consultants from Castilla–La Mancha, she demanded that the party hold several ministries in Andreu's government, including vice-presidency for herself. [2] Moreno accused Romero of "betrayal" of the chance to end 24 years of People's Party governance in La Rioja, and asked Podemos to put the decision up to a referendum of its members. [5] Podemos national leader Iglesias was also critical of Romero, saying "you can't ask for more than your votes gave you". [3]

On 29 August 2019, Romero was named Minister of Participation, Human Rights and Cooperation in the government of Concha Andreu. Podemos had initially named Nazaret Martín, its secretary in Logroño City Council, as the minister, but she resigned for personal reasons. [6]

Romero was expelled from Podemos on 18 March 2022 for failure to abide by a party rule requiring any part of a public salary over €2,100 per month – three times the national minimum wage – to be paid back to the party. [7] On 28 April, the parliamentary board agreed to expel her from the Mixed Group she had set up with Moreno; the proposal had been tabled by Moreno, on the request of Podemos. [8] Romero announced she would not run in the 2023 Riojan regional election. [9]

References

  1. ↑ "Raquel Romero Alonso" (in Spanish). Parliament of La Rioja . Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 Rioja Andueza, Iker (21 July 2019). "La semana más difícil de Raquel Romero, la diputada de Podemos que cambió el rumbo político en La Rioja" [The most difficult week for Raquel Romero, the Podemos deputy who changed the political course in La Rioja]. elDiario.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ondarra, Marcos (25 July 2019). "Raquel Romero, de Berlín a La Rioja para dinamitar Podemos y bloquear el gobierno regional" [Raquel Romero, from Berlin to La Rioja to blow up Podemos and block the regional government]. El Español (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  4. ↑ "Podemos indemnizará a Germán Cantabrana con 160.000 euros por excluirlo de las primarias" [Podemos will pay Germán Cantabrana 160,000 euros for excluding him from the primaries] (in Spanish). Cadena SER. 13 October 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2025.
  5. ↑ "El duro discurso de Henar Moreno (IU) contra Raquel Romero" [The tough speech of Henar Moreno (IU) against Raquel Romero]. La Rioja (in Spanish). 18 July 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  6. ↑ Ramos, Ana Belén; García, Pablo (29 August 2019). "Raquel Romero será finalmente consejera en La Rioja tras la pugna interna de Podemos" [Raquel Romero will finally be minister in La Rioja after Podemos's internal conflict]. El Independiente (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  7. ↑ García, Pío (18 March 2022). "Podemos ultima la expulsión de Romero por no ceder parte de su sueldo al partido" [Podemos finalises the expulsion of Romero for not giving part of her salary to the party]. La Rioja (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  8. ↑ "Romero, expulsada del Grupo Mixto en el Parlamento de La Rioja" [Romero, expelled from the Mixed Group in the Parliament of La Rioja] (in Spanish). Cadena SER. 28 April 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  9. ↑ "La consejera Raquel Romero anuncia su adiós electoral" [Minister Raquel Romero announces her electoral farwell] (in Spanish). Nueve Cuatro Uno. EFE . Retrieved 7 September 2025.
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