Podemos and Alianza Verde point to PSOE for the extension of Almaraz: "It has lied and breached its own agreement"

The Government's decision to keep the Almaraz nuclear power plant in operation until June 8, 2030 has ignited another front on the left. Podemos and Alianza Verde have harshly criticized the PSOE and have joined the rejection expressed by Sumar, which considers the extension a breach of the coalition agreement.

The measure is included in an order from the Ministry for Ecological Transition dated August 12 and published this Friday in the Official State Gazette. The authorization allows the two reactors of the Cáceres plant to continue operating beyond the scheduled closures for November 2027 and October 2028.

The general secretary of Podemos, Ione Belarra, has directly accused the socialists of betraying their commitments. "You have to have little shame, but little more can be expected from a Government that promised housing and only rearmed," she wrote. The purple leader concluded her message by stating that "the PSOE is a machine for feeding the right."

The spokesperson for Podemos, Pablo Fernández, has also described the decision as "a real disgrace" and has revived the historic anti-nuclear slogan "Nuclear? No, thanks!". The party places the extension within an energy policy that it considers far from the promises with which the PSOE came to power.

Alianza Verde has further escalated the tone. Its federal coordinator, Juantxo López de Uralde, accuses the Executive of having acted "with Augustness and treachery" to reduce the political impact of the measure. The party maintains that the Government knew for months what its decision would be and denounces that it has ended up yielding to Iberdrola, Endesa, and Naturgy, owners of the plant.

The clash fully affects the coalition Government

The reaction comes after Sumar accused the PSOE of breaking the Government agreement signed in 2023. The Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, has denounced a "concession to the pressures of the energy oligopoly" and considers that prolonging Almaraz's activity hinders the deployment of renewables. The party demands to maintain the nuclear park's closure schedule, which established the progressive shutdown of Spanish reactors until 2035.

The Ministry for Ecological Transition defends that it is a "limited and circumscribed" extension caused by international energy instability and the volatility of gas prices derived from conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine. The Government assures that the extension has the favorable report of the Nuclear Safety Council, maintains safety requirements, and lacks tax reductions for electricity companies.

The authorization extends the activity of the first unit by 31 months and that of the second by 19 months. The Executive formally maintains the definitive closure of the nuclear park in 2035, although Almaraz was the first plant that was supposed to begin shutting down, and its continuity sets a precedent that electricity companies and communities with reactors already want to transfer to facilities such as Ascó, Vandellòs, or Cofrentes.

Alianza Verde fears precisely that Almaraz will mark the beginning of a complete review of the nuclear calendar. "They have lied, they have broken the closure schedule, and after Almaraz, all the others may come," warned López de Uralde, who demands explanations from the entire Executive and assures that he expects "consequences" for the breach of the pact.