There is still no public data segregated by sex on the municipal elections, but in the socialist ranks there is concern about the weakening of the harmony that has always been maintained with the vote for women, with feminism understood beyond the strict militancy. Each vote in the generals is crucial for the formation of Pedro Sánchez, who must now manage in the face of 23-J the disenchantment that the management in the Ministry of Equality, led by Irene Montero. And, above all, for not having "standing up" to some policies from the Podemos portfolio.
The long debate on the Trans law, with many socialist voices against it, understanding that it destroys the principles of equality between men and women, and the controversy over the law of only yes is yes weigh in the electoral framework. It is not a question, indicate the socialist sources linked to classical or radical feminism, of only analyzing what the socialist and left-wing feminists will do, who perhaps do not represent an excessively high volume of votes. The problem, they explain, is the discomfort that has been generated among voters who are not activists but follow equality policies with interest.
A moment in which, socialist sources highlight, it is added that the debate on the right to gender self-determination has already permeated society not only with the theses of the Ministry. Critical voices have also made their way into the public discussion.
It is not about speculating on whether a feminist woman who votes for the PSOE will vote for the PP. She is not in the equation, especially taking into account that Vox can reach the Government hand in hand with the PP, a formation with a markedly anti-feminist character. The question is whether a sector of this electorate close to the PSOE can demobilize, if a message can be achieved again that will inspire. In the municipal elections, the Alianza contra el Borrado de las Mujeres platform -more than a hundred feminist platforms- launched a campaign that with the slogan "feminism does not vote for traitors" asked not to support the formations that have protected "pernicious" laws. for the women.
The generals are just around the corner and at the moment there is no spirit of amendment, according to Alicia Miyares, professor of Philosophy (Uned) and promoter of the Spanish Association of Socialist Feminists (Femes). “The PSOE and the left are losing the women's vote, the Ministry of Equality has legislated for LGBT groups and not for the women to whom it has turned its back, and this is going to influence”, she explains. Miyares stresses that she has warned the PSOE leadership of this position over the years. A malaise that has been permeating. and where the leadership has avoided contact with this association of feminist socialists.
The useful vote is in the background of Sánchez's campaign to prevent the arrival of the right, but socialist feminism warns of the fatigue of calls for "utility". For this reason, and given the recent announcement that former Vice President Carmen Calvo - who left the Government to oppose the Trans law - will be number one for Granada, it is noted that this is an insufficient gesture. “It corresponds more to a dynamic already overcome from the 1980s, the dynamic of exceptions,” says Miyares. What we want is feminist parity”.
Other socialist sources consulted do consider it important to cast a useful vote, but they admit their discomfort. And they add that the debate that has been generated around the Ministry's equality policies has various ramifications. "From postmodern positions, men have been blamed, when what must be analyzed in equality policies is the structure of society," it is indicated. From the analysis of the socialist leaders consulted, it is pointed out that the role of the Secretary of State for Equality, Ángel Rodríguez "Pam", -he entered the Ministry in October 2021- has not helped to secure voters either.
But each party makes its bets. The campaign is heating up and the PSOE needs a robust mobilization of men and women.
