Sánchez states he trusted Cerdán and Ábalos and was betrayed but will not resign out of 'responsibility'

Pedro Sánchez will not resign. He has made this decision "out of responsibility." He confirmed this on Saturday during the PSOE federal committee, a party he will continue to lead despite admitting it was a "mistake" to trust his last two Organisation Secretaries.

In doing so, he refers to Santos Cerdán and José Luis Ábalos, involved in an alleged corruption case. About them, Pedro Sánchez says he feels "betrayed," having trusted them. "We will take charge of the situation, as we always have. And we will defeat corruption, both inside and outside our organisation."

After also announcing changes in the PSOE leadership and the first measures to overcome the crisis in which the PSOE is mired, exacerbated by Cerdán's preventive detention last Monday, Sánchez addressed the PSOE membership "with a heavy heart, but also with undiminished determination."

He made it clear that he acts with "the same desire to face adversity, and to overcome it again. Because if anyone had doubts, I say it here, again, we will continue to move forward, we will not shy away from this challenge."

Sánchez has once again apologised to the 315 socialist officials gathered in Ferraz and to all Spaniards, admitting he was wrong to place his trust in people "who did not deserve it," referring to the alleged corruption scheme led by Cerdán, in which Ábalos and his then-advisor, Koldo García, were also allegedly involved.

"I was wrong," he stated, but immediately assured that they will not fail when it comes to achieving the democratic regeneration the country has been pursuing for decades, he points out.

"Because we are not like the others, like the Popular Party and Vox, nor are we like the corrupt who have tarnished our initials, so no one should try to equate us with them in indecency," he warned. On the contrary, he maintains that the PSOE is made up of "good, honest, and humble people who would never dip their hands into the till."

Sánchez reiterated his conviction to continue leading the party because he believes it is his duty as "captain of the ship" and was elected for that. "The captain does not abandon when the sea is rough, he stays to weather the storm, to save the course and to reach the port," he defended.

He therefore maintains that he will continue out of "responsibility" with the membership, with the "ideas" he has defended for "25 years" and with the political project he leads, "supported by millions of people" and which, he assures, "is bearing fruit exceptionally."

"The betrayal suffered, without a doubt, is painful. From a political and personal point of view, I do not hide it from you. After all, it was I who trusted them and who could not discover what was behind," he stated.

However, he makes it clear that "the shadow of this mistake" cannot make him renounce his "responsibility," nor can it make them forget what they have achieved in the seven years of previous government "for which it is worth fighting," he stressed.

Sánchez has extensively reviewed the main achievements of the government in recent years and has also devoted much of his speech to criticising the PP and Vox, whom he accuses of wanting to cut the Welfare State and "curtail the rights of the majority and also of minorities."

In this vein, he warns of a "reactionary agenda" that he believes is emerging harshly where Alberto Núñez Feijóo and Santiago Abascal govern, which, he claims, makes it necessary to continue: "The disappointment is great, but the responsibility of ensuring Spain continues to advance is even greater."

He also says that the "far-right coalition" has "powerful levers: money, media, and power" and believes they should govern regardless of what citizens decide with their vote "because they consider Spain their estate and they carry the privilege imprinted in their blood and surnames," he added.