Político vs. política
The Spanish words político and política are closely related but have distinct meanings depending on whether they are used as a noun or an adjective, and on their grammatical gender.
Político
B1The word político is the masculine form. As a noun, it specifically refers to a male politician. As an adjective, it means political and is used to describe masculine nouns.
El famoso político visitó nuestra ciudad ayer.
(The famous politician visited our city yesterday.)
El sistema político del país necesita una reforma.
(The country's political system needs a reform.)
Hubo un debate político muy interesante en la televisión.
(There was a very interesting political debate on television.)
Mi tío es un analista político muy respetado.
(My uncle is a highly respected political analyst.)
Política
B1The word política is the feminine form and is more versatile. It can be a noun referring to a female politician, a noun for the abstract concept of politics or a specific policy, or an adjective meaning political that describes feminine nouns.
La nueva política propuso leyes para proteger el medio ambiente.
(The new politician proposed laws to protect the environment.)
A mi padre le encanta leer sobre la historia de la política.
(My father loves to read about the history of politics.)
La empresa tiene una estricta política de privacidad.
(The company has a strict privacy policy.)
La situación política de la región es muy inestable.
(The political situation of the region is very unstable.)
La participación de las mujeres en la vida política ha aumentado.
(Women's participation in political life has increased.)
Tenemos una nueva política de puertas abiertas en la oficina.
(We have a new open-door policy in the office.)
Summary
In summary, the key difference is in gender and function. El político is a male politician. La política can be a female politician, the general concept of politics, or a specific policy. As adjectives, político modifies masculine nouns (e.g., clima político - political climate) and política modifies feminine nouns (e.g., decisión política - political decision). The context and the article used (el, la, un, una) are essential to determine the correct meaning.