The Socialist spokesperson in the Madrid City Council faces Enma López in primaries this Sunday to lead the PSOE-M candidacy. Maroto aims to govern the capital with Pedro Sánchez's model.
The PSOE spokesperson in the Madrid City Council, Reyes Maroto, is betting her political future this Sunday in her party's primaries. She faces her number two, Enma López, to decide who will lead the Socialist candidacy for the Mayor of Madrid in the 2027 elections. Maroto has made it clear that her goal is to oust José Luis Martínez-Almeida from the Palacio de Cibeles and apply the same model that Pedro Sánchez has promoted at the central government level.
Maroto appeals to 'sanchismo' as a roadmap
In the debate she held last Thursday with López, Maroto was explicit:
“I want to do what Pedro Sánchez is doing in Madrid: turn dreams into realities.”The former Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism (2018-2023) boasts of being a committed sanchista and does not hesitate to link her municipal project to that of the Prime Minister. In her speeches, she repeatedly mentioned her time in the central government as proof of her management ability.
However, the electoral landscape is not in her favour. Current polls give Almeida an absolute majority, an obstacle that Maroto considers surmountable with a message of change and mobilising the progressive vote. The Socialist candidate hopes that Sánchez's wave in the general elections can be transferred to the capital.
From ministerial discretion to a combative profile in Cibeles
Maroto (Medina del Campo, 1973) arrived at the Madrid City Council in 2023, after leaving the central government. In those elections, the PSOE improved by three seats compared to 2019, but remained the third force, behind Más Madrid. Her leap into local politics marked a change in register: from a moderate minister to a municipal spokesperson in direct confrontation with Almeida.
Graduated in Economics from the University of Valladolid, she has been an associate professor at the Carlos III University of Madrid and has worked at the Ideas Foundation and in International Financial Analysts. She is married and has two children. Her political career began in 2015 when Ángel Gabilondo included her at number 20 on his list for the Assembly of Madrid, and she joined the PSOE two years later.
In her somewhat more than three years in the City Council, Maroto has not been free from controversies. The most serious was in March 2025, when she stated that
“7,291 were the victims or elderly people murdered during the pandemic in the residences of the Community of Madrid.”Those statements earned her a lawsuit for an alleged crime of defamation with publicity, a procedure that is still open. Although she tried to rectify with a confusing message on social media, the damage was already done.
Other blunders include confusing the number of districts in Madrid (she said there were 25 when there are 21) and promising free travel on the bonobús, a ticket that disappeared 25 years ago. More recently, she was seen wearing a counterfeit Spanish national team shirt, despite having promoted a national plan against counterfeiting during her time in Moncloa.
Primaries with internal darts
In the final days of the campaign, Maroto has labelled her number two as “disloyal” for running against her. López has defended herself by stating that the primaries are a necessary democratic exercise. The vote this Sunday will decide who will be the visible face of the PSOE in the capital for 2027. For the Madrid reader, the result will determine whether the party opts for the continuity of the sanchista line or opens a new chapter with López.
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