For more than two years, Begoña Gómez has been under investigation in a case handled by Judge Juan Carlos Peinado. Reports have described the allegations as involving influence-peddling and misappropriation-related offenses, with proceedings moving toward a trial by popular jury. At the PSOE rally in Seville, she did not mention the case.
Instead, she thanked party members for their support, saying they had given her the strength to continue. The audience responded with chants of support. Her 12 November appearance at the FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre was her first speech at a PSOE rally. Thousands of party members and supporters attended the event, which formed part of the party’s campaign launch ahead of the 29 November general election. Gómez spoke before Andalusian socialist leaders and Pedro Sánchez.
Gómez focused on women’s equality and presented the PSOE as a leading defender of women’s rights. She said the party stood behind every advance for women. Gómez urged voters to support the party in the 29 November general election, arguing that equality requires protection through the ballot box. The wider contest has also seen the PP open its campaign in Badalona, where Feijóo focused on Catalonia’s 48 seats, as an earlier campaign report noted.
She also objected to being defined chiefly as Pedro Sánchez’s wife, saying women should shape their own lives. Gómez said women had been treated for too long as “wives of” and were now “the authors of our own lives.” She described her work as something she had spent her life defending and rejected attempts to dictate how women should act.
After the rally, Sánchez defended his wife on ‘El Perro Andaluz’, a programme hosted by Manu Sánchez. He said her speech had angered the right and far right, describing her as an independent, autonomous professional. He also said she wanted to express gratitude for the support she had received and reaffirm her commitment to the Socialist Party.
