Former Spanish Minister José Luis Ábalos Sentenced to 24 Years, Valencia Faction Disintegrates

The Spanish Supreme Court sentenced former minister José Luis Ábalos to 24 years in prison for organized crime, multiple bribery offences, embezzlement and influence‑peddling tied to the 2024 mask‑procurement scandal and the use of prostitutes at official gatherings. Ábalos, who rose from local party secretary in Valencia to Minister of Public Works (2018‑2021), was a dominant figure of the so‑called “abalismo” within the PSOE’s Valencia branch.

Following the verdict, many former allies are distancing themselves from the faction. A former Valencian councillor said, “There are very ugly things, like the prostitution issue, which have caused great damage to the party.” Other members have shifted support to leaders such as Diana Morant and Carlos Fernández Biela, while the network of loyalists that once controlled district branches is described as “disintegrated.”