Pablo Castaño

Pablo Castaño is a Barcelona-based freelance journalist and political analyst. He contributes to numerous media outlets, including Jacobin, Tribune, The Nation and Le Monde Diplomatique, where he writes mainly about Spanish and Latin American politics, social movements and environment.

Toward an Anti-Capitalist Drug Policy (interview with Estefanía Ciro)

Jacobin
5/10/2025

According to Colombian expert Estefanía Ciro, the war on drugs has failed to reduce drug consumption, but has served to maintain US military and intelligence apparatuses in Latin America.

Making Spanish Support for Palestine Real

Jacobin
4/10/2025

Spain’s center-left prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has been one of the Western leaders most critical of Israel. But words often haven’t translated into action, and rising pro-Palestinian protests are criticizing his government too.

Has Macron Met his Match?

The New Internationalist
25/9/2025

Amid France’s deepening political crisis, can a new social movement grow into a rebellion Macron can’t ignore? Report from Paris.

France Is in the Streets and Deep in Political Crisis

Jacobin
20/9/2025

President Emmanuel Macron last week appointed France’s fifth prime minister since the start of 2024. This Thursday’s mass strike suggests that his gambit has done little to settle the country’s political crisis.

Interview with Andrei Țăranu: The Far Right Protest Vote in Romania

Jacobin
22/8/2025

In Romania’s integration into European capitalism, the tough years after the 2008 crisis broke the illusion of continuous progress. The losers of that period are today swinging to far-right parties who tell a story of national victimhood.

Spain’s Far-Right Problem

Tribune
22/8/2025

Right-wing Spanish groups are helping to incite racist, xenophobic rampages in a cheap attempt at parliamentary gain. Is the Spanish Left strong enough to fight back?

Who Really Wins in Barcelona’s Airport Expansion?

Green European Journal
29/5/2025

In Barcelona, where residents have grown increasingly frustrated with overtourism and its associated problems, authorities and business associations are trying to push ahead with a plan to enlarge El Prat, Europe’s sixth-busiest airport. But will the project really benefit Catalans and the Spanish economy, as its promoters claim?

Will the Margins Now Turn Right?

Tribune
23/5/2025

The rise of a new far-right Catalan nationalist party is a sinister development in European politics, showing how voters wearied by inequality and frustrated by failed devolution projects are seeking solace in blood-and-soil populism.

Pope Leo XIV: A Less Reformist Version of Francis?

The Nation
9/5/2025

All signs point to the newly elected pontiff’s continuing in much the same vein as his predecessor, but with a more moderate approach.

Interview with Massimo Faggiolo: Will Pope Leo XIV Confront MAGA?

Jacobin
9/5/2025

Robert Francis Prevost, the first US-born pope, embodies Catholicism’s anti-nationalist ethos. Will he follow Pope Francis in confronting the resurgence of nativism in the US and abroad?

All Options Are Open in the Papal Conclave

The Nation
7/5/2025

The next leader of the Catholic Church is unlikely to be either a progressive reformer or a hard-line conservative.

Will Latin America Unite Against Trump?

Jacobin
30/4/2025

Rather than ushering in a new era of Latin American unity, Donald Trump’s tariffs, anti-immigrant policies, and withdrawal of humanitarian aid have mostly highlighted its divisions.

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Books

Left-Wing Populism and Feminist Politics: Women’s Movements and Gender Equality Policies in Evo Morales’ Bolivia (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022)

The rise to power of Evo Morales in Bolivia in 2006 sparked enormous hopes for change, including among women’s movements. This book explores the relationship between Morales’s left-wing populism and feminist politics, analysing the gender equality policies promoted by his government, the alliances formed between different women’s movements, and the influence they had on political decision-making. The book is based on Pablo Castaño’s doctoral thesis, enriched by dozens of interviews with activists, policymakers, and experts.

De las calles a las urnas: nuevos partidos de izquierda en la Europa de la austeridad (Akal, 2019)

The 2008 financial crisis triggered a wave of protests across Europe, demanding more democracy and an end to neoliberal austerity policies. This context gave rise to new left-wing parties such as Podemos, La France Insoumise, the Bloco de Esquerda, and the renewed Labour movement under Jeremy Corbyn. This book examines the origins, similarities, differences, and impact of these political forces. The book is edited by Pablo Castaño and includes chapters by Tatiana Llaguno, Catarina Príncipe, Lewis Bassett, Leandros Fischer, George Souvlis, and Pablo Castaño.