“Worst Government Ever”
Thousands of Spaniards demonstrate against Sanchez
01/21/2023, 5:16 p.m
Parliamentary elections are due in Spain at the end of the year. Right-wing groups are calling for demonstrations against the socialist Prime Minister Sanchez. Thousands of demonstrators are outraged by his reform of the sex criminal law and his treatment of separatists.
In Spain’s capital Madrid, thousands of people took to the streets against the government of socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. According to the Spanish government, around 30,000 people followed a call from several right-wing groups, as well as the conservative People’s Party (PP) and the far-right party Vox, and gathered in Madrid’s central Cibeles Square. The organizers spoke of 700,000 participants. The reason for the protest was a controversial criminal law reform.
The Spanish right is outraged by the Socialist government’s decision to abolish the criminal offense of rioting. On the basis of this, nine Catalan separatist leaders were convicted for their role in the failed independence referendum in 2017.
In December, after heated debates, the Spanish Parliament abolished the criminal offense of rioting as part of a reform of the penal code and replaced it with the criminal offense of disturbing public order. This provides for less severe penalties. Conservatives are also angry at a landmark sexual violence law that tightened penalties for rape but eased penalties for other sexual offences.
Right-wing parties support protests
The demonstrators waved Spanish flags and called on Sánchez to resign. Some held up banners with a photo of the socialist leader and called him a “traitor”. Dozens of right-wing groups had called for the demonstration, and Vox and PP expressed their support.
At the beginning of the demonstration, Vox boss Santiago Abascal described Sanchez’s cabinet as the “worst government in history”. You have “divided the Spaniards and released rapists and putschists”. PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo did not take part in the demonstration, but called on his party members to take part. Since his election as party leader last April, Núñez Feijóo has been trying to move the party to the centre.
Parliamentary elections are planned in Spain at the end of the year. According to recent polls, the PP would get the most votes, but would have to form a coalition with Vox for a government majority. Regional and local elections are also scheduled for May. The government under the socialist Sánchez does not have its own parliamentary majority. It therefore needs the support of Basque and Catalan separatists for important legislative projects.