The resignation of Íñigo Errejón as deputy and spokesperson for Sumar and his abandonment of institutional politics came amid anonymous accusations of harassment, which were followed by the complaint of sexual assault by the actress and presenter Elisa Mouliáa. The last one to speak out was Rita Maestrehis ex and the spokesperson for Más Madrid in the capital’s City Council.
After three days of silence, Rita Maestre has assured that she has now discovered that some of the episodes of “misogynistic behavior and violence” reported by the victims took place when she was still in a relationship with Errejón.
“A normal-looking person, a “good boyfriend” was at the same time a misogynist who returned home normally after attacking a 20-year-old woman in a hotel“Maestre stated this Sunday in a statement that he published on his X account, formerly Twitter.
The Más Madrid spokesperson has also responded to those who have “joyfully speculated about the degree of knowledge of his actions or complicity in the spaces of personal or political coexistence of which he was a part”, denying knowledge of such behaviors.
“It is impossible for each of the people who have shared parts of our lives with him not to think about how we could not see that we were facing someone with those multiple faces, how we could be blinded to that level of manipulation (…) I have neither been a part nor I am aware of no cover-up of any aggression or violent action, because there has not been any. Rather, I feel deeply deceived, and that deception is devastating.“, he stated.
In the statement, the leader of Más Madrid has called to eradicate sexist behavior and aggression from politics and society. “Whatever the cost and whoever falls falls. Whoever the aggressor is, and whoever the victim is. The important thing is to end every space of impunity, with every small detail that minimizes comments, attitudes and attacks that should have no place.“, he added.
“I also encourage any woman who has suffered a situation of assault or harassment to use feminist support networks to move forward. (…) Much encouragement, colleagues, and a huge hug. Without all of us there are no us“, he concluded.
Errejón and Rita Maestre ended their relationship in mid-2015 after several comings and goings and a few years of dating. “Rita knows by heart, despite herself, this thesis, the reflections, questions and hours that are behind this work. I would say that it has the unparalleled merit of having endured me in times of anxiety and, perhaps even more so, in times of good wind.. However, that happens in the course of sharing the days in handfuls, like desire, war and hands. And that would be irreplaceable to me,” he wrote in his thesis. The two were part of Pablo Iglesias’ ‘first’ Podemos.