Background As a result of
Pablo Iglesias's departure from active politics in May 2021,
Labour minister—and, from July 2021,
second deputy prime minister—
Yolanda Díaz, came to be widely regarded as Iglesias's presumptive successor as prime ministerial candidate in the next general election. Díaz expressed her will to shape a new electoral platform transcending political parties, as well as the
Unidas Podemos brand, aiming to secure the support of ideologically close forces such as
En Comú Podem (ECP),
Compromís and
Más Madrid/
Más País while giving a prevalent role to
civil society. The platform was drafted during an event held on 13 November 2021, with the participation of a number of female representatives of the various political spaces that could eventually join it: Díaz herself,
Barcelona mayor,
Ada Colau (BComú), Valencian vice president
Mónica Oltra (Compromís), Madrilenian opposition leader
Mónica García (Más Madrid) and Ceutan councillor
Fatima Hamed (from the
Movement for Dignity and Citizenship, MDyC); the absence of
Podemos members at the event, most notably of
Equality and
Social Rights ministers
Irene Montero and
Ione Belarra, was seen as evidence of the growing diminished role of Unidas Podemos within the platform. The Díaz-led incoming left-wing alliance was also welcomed by incumbent prime minister
Pedro Sánchez, who saw it as important for the "progressive space" to be in "top shape" in order for his government to be able to maintain and expand its majority in the next election. While the term "Broad Front" has been frequently used in the media to refer to Díaz's platform, it has been commented that Díaz herself has rejected the use of this name for its connections with similar brandings used by left-wing populist alliances in
Latin America. After its postponement as a result of the international crisis sparked by the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, it was announced on 18 May 2022 that Díaz's platform would go under the provisional name "Sumar" (), with its formal launch being scheduled for after the
2022 Andalusian regional election. Díaz herself has asserted that, while she feels comfortable with the "Sumar" concept, it may not be her platform's definitive name, depending on administrative and bureaucratic processes. On 24 May, the platform's name and logo were registered at the
Spanish Patent and Trademark Office.
Official launch, rallies, policy teams On 1 July 2022, the social media accounts of both Yolanda Díaz and Sumar published promotional videos for the platform's launch event, as part of a broader 'consultation process' (
proceso de escucha) starting on 8 July 2022 in the
Matadero Madrid arts centre. The Sumar brand and logo were officially introduced in that event as well. The event had an audience of over 5,000 people, with the attendance of relevant figures in the Spanish cultural landscape such as
James Rhodes,
Elvira Sastre or
Belén Gopegui. At the same time, a series of work teams were assembled in order to prepare the platform's policy positions in the form of a long-term national strategy. These were introduced on 23 September 2022, including experts and public figures such as
César Rendueles,
Ignacio Sánchez-Cuenca or
Yayo Herrero. After the first rally, similar events followed in
Lugo,
Bilbao,
Gijón,
Sabadell and
Mérida, and in November 2022, the platform was introduced to audiences in
Pamplona,
Logroño and
Valencia. The nationwide encounters of Díaz with the public continued in
A Coruña,
Zaragoza,
Tarragona,
Barcelona,
Palma de Mallorca,
Valladolid,
Albacete and
Murcia. The last rallies took place in March 2023 in
Santander,
Seville and
Las Palmas. The final event of the consultation process, which also served as Díaz's official presentation of her bid for the 2023 elections, took place in Madrid on 2 April. At the start of June 2023, former MP
Pablo Bustinduy, identified with
Podemos, and
MEP Ernest Urtasun, identified with
En Comú Podem, were announced as part of the Sumar campaign.
Agreements Following the
early election call for
23 July 2023, the various allied parties of Sumar announced their agreements for joining Díaz's electoral alliance:
Green Alliance,
Drago Canaries Party,
Chunta Aragonesista, Andalusian People's Initiative,
Batzarre, with negotiations ongoing with
Compromís,
Greens Equo,
United Left,
Más Madrid, and
Catalunya en Comú, as well as the support of other minor parties such as Sí Se Puede and Ganemos Jerez. The
Movement for Dignity and Citizenship (MDyC) chose on 8 June not to join Sumar and opted out of the election. The incorporation of
Podemos remained a point of friction in the negotiations, with the presence of
Equality Minister Irene Montero and Podemos' representation in Sumar's lists being the main focus of divergence. In the end, following a troubling negotiation process, Podemos joined the alliance four hours ahead of the deadline to register it. On 5 December 2023, Podemos broke with Sumar, and announced that their five MPs would be sitting in the Mixed Group, reducing Sumar's total MPs to 26.
Resignation of Díaz In 2024, regional elections were held in
Galicia, the
Basque Country and
Catalonia. The first of those, in February in Díaz's native region, saw Sumar receive under 2% of the total vote and no seats, while in April Sumar took one seat in the
Basque Parliament. In May, Comuns Sumar took two seats fewer than
En Comú Podem had taken in the
2021 Catalan regional election. Díaz resigned on 10 June 2024, after Sumar took three seats in the
2024 European Parliament election in Spain, a figure below its target. ==Ideology==