Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Madrid on Saturday against the Spanish government led by Socialist Pedro Sanchez, in a protest backed by the far-right Vox party in an election year. Among red flags, the demonstrators demanded the resignation of Sánchez and waved posters with a photo of the head of government and the phrase "traitor".
According to official data, more than 30,000 people participated in the protest in the central Glorieta de Cibeles in Madrid. Organizers say there were more than 700,000. The rally was called by a dozen right-wing groups and organizations and has been backed by the Popular Party (PP, conservative), the main opposition, and by the far-right formation Vox.
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The demonstration came after the government repealed the crime of sedition, the main charge for which Spanish justice convicted nine Catalan separatist leaders for their role in the region's failed bid for independence in 2017. The crime was replaced by another with a lesser penalty. The right-wing opposition wants to reverse the measure if it returns to power. Conservatives also oppose a landmark law that toughens penalties for rape but softens those related to other sex crimes.
"I am here to support a mobilization against the worst government in history. There is a government to kick out, which has confronted the Spaniards, releases rapists, releases coup plotters," Vox leader Santiago Abascal said. Likewise, he declared himself "convinced of the need for a permanent and massive mobilization until the expulsion of the autocrat Pedro Sánchez from power."
Antonio Orduña, a 67-year-old retired accountant, said he was concerned the government was leaving "those who want to destroy Spain free of charge." The protester cited the repeal of the crime of sedition and Sanchez's decision to pardon nine Catalan separatist leaders sentenced to 9 to 13 years in prison for their role in the failed secession attempt.
The leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, was not at the demonstration but encouraged the militants of the formation to attend. Most polls indicate that the PP could win the general elections scheduled for the end of the year, although to govern it would need the support of Vox, which is currently the third force in parliament. Before the general elections, Spain will hold municipal and regional elections in a dozen regions in May.
Sanchez's government, which lacks a parliamentary majority, has been forced to negotiate with Basque and Catalan separatists to pass bills, angering the right. The conservatives accuse him of having eliminated the crime of sedition to ensure the support of the separatists of Esquerra Republicana de Cataluña (ERC).
"The only thing he cares about is staying at his post," said Rosa Torosio, a 44-year-old housewife who took part in the protest.
The government, on the other hand, argues that sedition is an outdated crime that should be replaced by one more in line with European standards. Sánchez, in power since 2018, argued on Saturday, during a rally of the Socialist Party in Valladolid (north), that his government should take measures to calm the conflict in Catalonia, which erupted during the management of his predecessor Mariano Rajoy, of the PP.
"2017 placed us before the abyss in Catalonia, with a unilateral declaration of independence that was preceded by many illegal referendums, in which the PP, then governing, did absolutely nothing," he said.