Sira Rigo, Spanish Minister of Youth and Childhood / DR ‹ › Sira Rego, Spain's Minister for Youth and Children, affiliated with the Communist Party and part of the Sumar coalition, hosted a delegation from the Polisario youth organization on Tuesday at her ministry's headquarters in Madrid. The discussions centered on «ways to bolster cooperation in youth initiatives, exchange expertise in guidance and training, and support joint programs addressing challenges faced by Sahrawi youth, aiming to elevate their profile on the European and international stage», according to a report from the Polisario press agency, accompanied by two photos, released on Wednesday. This meeting signifies a departure from the informal consensus established since 2020 among ministers from radical left coalitions, including Sumar and Podemos, and the PSOE led by Pedro Sánchez. This unwritten agreement set the parameters for interactions between Spanish government officials and Polisario representatives. The arrangement was initiated following the precedent set by Nacho Alvarez, who in February 2020 welcomed a delegation from the Front at his ministry's headquarters, led by the «Minister of Social Affairs and Women's Promotion», Souilma Birouk. Since then, these meetings have typically been held at political party headquarters rather than official ministerial venues. This includes the meeting on April 28, 2022, between former Minister of Consumer Affairs, Alberto Garzón, and a Polisario mission, as well as the one on April 22, 2022, between former Secretary of State for the 2030 Agenda, Santiago Enrique, and a Front representative in Spain, organized at the Communist Party headquarters. The meeting on Tuesday, March 24, between Minister Sira Rego and members of the Polisario occurs amid escalating tensions between the various factions of Sumar and the PSOE. These frictions have particularly intensified following the electoral setback experienced by the radical left during the Castile and León parliamentary elections on March 15.
