Lorena Ruiz-Huerta Explained

Lorena Ruiz-Huerta
Office:Member of the Assembly of Madrid
Term Start:9 June 2015
Term End:8 October 2018
Birth Date:1977 2, df=y
Birth Place:Madrid
Citizenship:Spanish
Party:Podemos
Occupation:Lawyer, politician
Signature:Firma de Lorena Ruiz-Huerta.svg

Lorena Ruiz-Huerta García de Viedma (born 1977) is a Spanish lawyer and politician. She was a member of the 10th Assembly of Madrid in the Podemos parliamentary group.

Early life

Born on 9 February 1977 in Madrid.[1] Her uncle Alejandro Ruiz-Huerta, a lawyer, was a survivor from the 1977 Atocha massacre; this would later influence Lorena's professional vocation.

She graduated in Law at the Charles III University of Madrid and later obtained a certification in advanced studies in Public Law. She started her career as lawyer specialized in Family and Criminal Law in 2005.

Regional MP

She ran as candidate in the Podemos list (in second place)[2] for the May 2015 regional election in Madrid, and she was elected member of the regional legislature.

In December 2016, after the Ramón Espinar's victory in the Podemos regional primary election in November 2016, the party spokesperson in the Assembly José Manuel López (considered a member of the errejonista faction), was forced to resign. Ruiz-Huerta, a member of the minor anticapitalista faction of the party, was appointed as López's replacement after Espinar (himself a member of the mainstream pablista faction) struck an agreement with the anticapitalistas.[3] When the Podemos parliamentary group filed a motion of no-confidence on Cristina Cifuentes in 2017, Ruiz-Huerta was presented as the candidate to replace Cifuentes. The motion failed to gain enough parliamentary support in June 2017, receiving only the support from the 27 legislators of her parliamentary group.[4] The 47 members of the PSOE group abstained, while the members of the Citizens and the People's Party groups voted against in bloc (with the exception of Elena González-Moñux, on sick leave due to depression), numbering 64 votes against.

She handed in her resignation as spokeswoman of the Podemos parliamentary group (and also her parliamentary seat) in October 2018.[5] She explained her decision in a letter, where she criticised the direction her party was taking. She also announced the intention to retake her activity as lawyer. She was replaced as spokeswoman by Clara Serra and her vacant seat at the Assembly was taken by María Acín, both errejonistas.

Notes and References

  1. La Vanguardia. Lorena Ruiz-Huerta, un verso suelto de Podemos que renuncia por "coherencia". Isidro. Alcalá. 8 October 2018.
  2. Boletín Oficial de la Comunidad de Madrid. 99. 28 April 2015. Elecciones a la Asamblea de Madrid 2015. Publicación candidaturas. Fase proclamación. https://web.archive.org/web/20150613211446/http://www.madrid.es/UnidadesDescentralizadas/UDCEstadistica/TramitesMunicipales/Especialinformativomayo2015/Candidaturas%20Elecciones%20Asamblea%20de%20Madrid%202015.pdf.pdf. 13 June 2015.
  3. Podemos cesa a José Manuel López como portavoz en la Asamblea de Madrid. eldiario.es. 23 December 2016.
  4. El País. Podemos se estrella con su moción. 8 June 2017. Roberto. Bécares. Álvaro. Carvajal.
  5. El País. Dimite Lorena Ruiz-Huerta como portavoz de Podemos en la Asamblea de Madrid. J.J.M.. 8 October 2018.