The Most Excellent
Ione Belarra
MP
Belarra in 2021
Minister of Social Rights and 2030 Agenda
In office
31 March 2021 – 21 November 2023
Prime MinisterPedro Sánchez
Preceded byPablo Iglesias
Succeeded byPablo Bustinduy (Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and 2030 Agenda)
Sira Rego (Youth and Children)
Secretary General of Podemos
Assumed office
13 June 2021
Preceded byPablo Iglesias
Secretary of State for the 2030 Agenda
In office
15 January 2020 – 31 March 2021
Prime MinisterPedro Sánchez
Succeeded byEnrique Santiago
Member of the Congress of Deputies
Assumed office
13 January 2016
ConstituencyNavarre (2016–2023)
Madrid (since 2023)
Personal details
Born
Ione Belarra Urteaga

(1987-09-25) 25 September 1987
Pamplona, Navarre, Spain
Political partyPodemos (since 2014)
Domestic partnerIgnacio Ramos Delgado (since 2021)
Children2
Alma materAutonomous University of Madrid

Ione Belarra Urteaga (born 25 September 1987) is a Spanish politician and psychologist from Podemos who served as minister of Social Rights and 2030 Agenda from 2021 to 2023. She has been her party's leader since June 2021.

Early life and education

Born in Pamplona, Navarre, Belarra graduated in Psychology in 2012 from the Autonomous University of Madrid, where she was a classmate of Irene Montero. She earned a master's degree in Education, and both she and Montero left their doctoral programmes because of their political careers.[1]

One of Belarra's earliest activist campaigns was against immigrant detention centres.[1][2]

Political career

Belarra joined Podemos in its founding year, 2014. The following year, she entered its national executive, the Citizens' Council, where she was put in charge of the area of Human Rights, Citizenship and Diversity.[2] She led Podemos's list in the Navarre constituency in the 2015 Spanish general election,[3] being one of two Podemos members elected by the region.[4] From July 2018, she and Pablo Echenique filled in as parliamentary and general spokespeople of Podemos, respectively, during Montero and Pablo Iglesias's joint maternity/paternity leave.[5]

After the November 2019 Spanish general election, Podemos entered government with the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), and Belarra became Secretary of State for the 2030 Agenda from January 2020 to March 2021. She then became Minister of Social Rights and 2030 Agenda.[6][7]

After Iglesias's retirement, Belarra was voted secretary general of Podemos with 88.69% of the members' votes in June 2021, while Yolanda Díaz succeeded Iglesias as leader of Unidas Podemos.[8]

Animal Welfare Law

In 2022, Belarra introduced legislation to ban the sale of pets in shops, convert zoos into wildlife recovery centres and impose prison sentences for abusers as part of Spain's first animal-rights bill, which notably did not target bullfighting.[9] A month later, the PSOE group in the Congress of Deputies tabled an amendment to restrict the scope of the text, excluding animals related to hunting, a decision which was strongly criticised by Unidas Podemos.[10]

Despite this disagreement, the two parties voted together in Congress on 6 October to reject the motions to reject the bill tabled by the People's Party (PP), Vox and the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV).[11]

After the new cabinet formation of November 2023, Belarra was replaced by Pablo Bustinduy.

References

  1. 1 2 Martí, Rafa (20 March 2021). "Montero y Belarra, las 'compis' de Psicología sin doctorado, con 4.300M en sus ministerios". El Español (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  2. 1 2 Vasco, Celia (15 March 2021). "Ione Belarra, de activista a ministra en cinco años". Público (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  3. ↑ "Ione Belarra, cabeza de lista de Podemos al Congreso por Navarra". Diario de Navarra (in Spanish). 11 December 2015. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  4. ↑ "Ione Belarra (Podemos): "Estamos ante un resultado histórico para una fuerza que se presenta por primera vez"". Navarra.com. Europa Press. 21 December 2015. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  5. ↑ Gil, Iván (6 July 2018). "Belarra y Echenique encabezarán Podemos durante las bajas de Montero e Iglesias". El Confidencial (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  6. ↑ E. Cué, Carlos; Santaeulalia, Inés (15 March 2021). "Pablo Iglesias deja el Gobierno para ser candidato en Madrid y ofrece a Errejón un frente común". El País (in Spanish). Montauban / Madrid. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  7. ↑ Cruz, Marisa (15 March 2021). "Pablo Iglesias exige a Pedro Sánchez que nombre a Yolanda Díaz vicepresidenta y a Ione Belarra ministra". El Mundo (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  8. ↑ Coll, Vicente (13 June 2021). "Ione Belarra toma el relevo de Pablo Iglesias al frente de Podemos con el 88,69% de los votos". El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  9. ↑ Emma Pinedo, Belen Carreño and Inti Landauro (18 February 2022), Spain's animal rights bill targets zoos and pet shops but not bullfighting Reuters.
  10. ↑ Marcos, José (2022-09-09). "El PSOE se reconcilia con los cazadores a costa de un nuevo frente con Unidas Podemos". El País (in Spanish).
  11. ↑ Medina, Miguel Ángel (2022-10-06). "El Congreso tumba las enmiendas a la totalidad de la ley de bienestar animal: estos son los puntos donde hay más controversia". El País (in Spanish).
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