A think tank linked to the People’s Party (Partido Popular, Spain’s leading opposition party) has asked evangelical Christians to join their discussions about the future of the country.

The main faith groups, including evangelicals, have been invited to speak on different areas and topics that Reformismo21 wants to explore. Elisabet Rodríguez, a member of the conservative party who serves as evangelical pastor in the Barcelona region, will coordinate the meetings.

A first meeting with four representatives of the Spanish Evangelical Alliance (AEE) was held in the third week of September at the headquarters of the conservative think tank in Calle Génova in Madrid (the building which is also the national headquarters of the People’s Party.

Xesús Manuel Suárez, the Spanish Evangelical Alliance’s secretary general, was present by videoconference, as he was in the Dominican Republic attending a conference about politics and Christian faith.

The gathering aimed to help Reformismo21 know the evangelical thinking, values and faith, better. The organisational structure of evangelicals in Spain, as well as some point of view on current challenges of our society were also on the agenda of the day.

In this first meeting, it was agreed that a seminar on ‘Freedom of Conscience’ would be given by Xesús Manuel Suárez at the think tank’s headquarters, with different politicians and PP officials invited to attend.

Evangelicals representatives were also invited to attend other forums organised.

The participants

In addition to X. Manuel Suárez, the Spanish Evangelical Alliance’s vice president Daniel Oval, the chair of the Women and Society working group Asun Quintana and the general director of Areópago Protestante, Pedro Tarquis also joined the meeting.

Reformismo21 was represented by its president, Pablo Vázquez, technical director Maribel Alañón, the director of the International Permanent Seminar, Ramón Gil Casares and María Chamorro (junior analyst).

The People’s Party national secretary for migrations, Carmen Cervantes and a local councillor in Madrid, Jeannete Novo, also attended the meeting.

‘Reformismo21’ and the People’s Party

The Reformismo21 foundation is not independent from the People’s Party but is autonomous in its functioning, although linked to it by means of an agreement. Although the party (which won the last national election in July 2024 but was not able to form a government coalition) and the think tank share the same ideology, the latter has freedom to have its own vision and projects. In order to preserve its autonomy, Reformismo21’s management does not include members of the Partido Popular.

Its work is centred on relations with civil society, to contribute projects and proposals to the PP. To this end, it generates a forum for analysis and debate on the fundamental challenges facing Spain and Europe in various areas.