LETTER FROM MADRID
He is not a candidate in the general elections to be held in Spain on 23rd July. But Daniel Esteve, the controversial head of the Desokupa company, which specializes in the forced eviction of squatters, seems determined to campaign. Monday, July 3, the inhabitants of number 75 Atocha street, in Madrid, woke up under a huge advertising canvas, covering the main facade in the process of being renovated.
On the left of the poster, the head of the Spanish government, the socialist Pedro Sanchez, has a contrite face, his eyes raised to the sky, a sheepish expression on his lips. On the right, Daniel Esteve, a 53-year-old former boxer, his head shaved, his mouth wide open evoking a threatening growl, his face distorted by hatred. “You in Morocco, Desokupa at Moncloa [le siège du gouvernement espagnol] ! »is inscribed in large, as a warning to the Prime Minister.
That’s not all. On the side of the building, the faces of a dozen leaders of the radical left party Podemos, member of the ruling coalition, and the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC), usual support in Parliament, occupy another advertising canvas . “In eight years, we have recovered the homes of 7,600 families or convictions. We will miss you all [une manière de se moquer de l’écriture inclusive] », appears above the Desokupa logo. The Socialist Party filed a complaint with the electoral commission, asking for the removal of the canvas. “Hate cannot be the protagonist of the electoral campaign”, defended the PSOE. His request was denied on July 7.
A far-right theme
Three weeks before the elections, Daniel Esteve has decided to gain publicity by campaigning aggressively against the current left-wing government. Unless he decided to campaign using his company. Anyway, it seems to work. For the past week, he has been in the news and has put the illegal occupation of housing at the heart of the campaign, a theme that the far-right Vox party is used to exploiting electorally.
His power of influence is not negligible: he has more than 260,000 subscribers on Instagram, 130,000 on YouTube, 110,000 on TikTok and 100,000 on Twitter. And it would not be surprising if he had political ambitions. “Let me be given the ministry of the interior, Bukele [le président du Salvador, qui mène une campagne de répression féroce et controversée contre les gangs], next to me is Papa Smurf. I’ll clean up Spain for you in three days and I have two left”he told the far-right site OkDiario.
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