Sánchez qualifies Vox as “a threat to democracy”

The president of the Government and secretary general of the PSOE, Pedro Sánchez, has called this Sunday for a vote to “stop the extremist threat of the far right” represented by Vox, in view of the death threats received by the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, the leader of Podemos, Pablo Iglesias, and the Director of the Civil Guard, María Gámez.

“Vox is a threat to democracy“, said Sánchez at the meeting held by the PSOE in Getafe to mark the halfway point of the Madrid regional election campaign, where he supported the socialist candidate, Ángel Gabilondo.

During his speech, the socialist leader was very tough on Vox for “accusing” Marlaska, Iglesias and Gámez of inventing the threats, and has warned that it is “the last line they cross”. “What is happening is something that we must stop immediately, so it’s over, it’s not normal. It’s no longer about Madrid, it’s about our democracy“, he defended.

The President of the Government warned that the supporters of the assault on the Capitol in Washington are “just a few metres away”. “We shudder when we remember the march on the Capitol in Washington, the US capital, with its trail of violence and hatred, but their counterparts, the people who defend the same thing we saw in the Capitol in Washington, are just a few metres away from us”, Sánchez said at an election rally in Getafe (Madrid).

The President of the Executive warned that it must be recognised that Spanish democracy has a problem, the far-right, which also affects mature democracies such as France, Germany and the United States, and stressed that democrats must look to “voting power” as a response to hatred.

“We are horrified when we see neo-fascism competing, even guaranteed to overcome the first round of the French elections, but their friends are just a few metres away from us, they are in the media, they spread the poison of hatred among those who do not think like them”, he criticised.

Sánchez stressed that the discourse of hatred is spreading: “The time has come to be clear and say that Vox represents a threat to Spanish democracy, a threat to the coexistence of Spaniards”.

The Secretary General of the Socialists has indicated that the party crossed a line last Friday in the Cadena Ser debate, by not condemning the death threats against the United Podemos candidate Pablo Iglesias and the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, but assured that it will be “the last line it crosses”.

Sánchez said that the fact that Vox candidate Rocío Monasterio blamed those who were threatened of having conspired to send the threats to themselves is “something very serious that has changed everything” and that it will not simply be considered a stunt.

He stressed that until now they have put up with shouting, insults, hatred, lies and even threats from the extreme right, something that has even been considered “normal”, but warned that the time has come to recognise that democracy has a problem.

“All democrats have been summoned, we have risen up and stood up to say ‘enough’.(…) It is not normal for us to accept this as customary. We need maximum mobilisation because this is about our rights. It is not normal to play down the importance of something as serious as a death threat, it is about the coexistence of everyone. It is not normal to sit on the fence”, he said.

“It is not an anecdote, it is not an isolated case; what is happening here and in other parts of the world is something that we have to stop immediately because it is not about Madrid, it is about our democracy”, he added.

Sánchez emphasised that Vox “is not just any party” but that “with its vote it supports PP governments in different parts of Spain” and is the party with which the Popular Party intends to govern in Madrid, and he called for “defending democracy with votes” peacefully and overwhelmingly to avoid backtracking on rights and freedoms.

“In the face of every provocation they are going to receive a response; in the face of every insult, our rejection; and in the face of their hatred, the strength of the vote, the strength of democracy”, he concluded.

Marlaska: “We will never take a step backwards”

Fernando Grande-Marlaska, the Minister of the Interior, also took the floor at the rally. He once again criticised the indifference of the right-wing parties in the face of people being targeted, without “real condemnation” of those acts, and stressed that the PSOE will never take a step back and will continue to confront “the intolerant and those who do not understand that diversity is wealth“.

“We have confronted those who point the finger at us and we will never take a step back, they should bear that in mind“, he stressed, while describing the Vox poster against unaccompanied foreign minors as “abominable” because it is an attack on the vulnerable.

For his part, the Socialist candidate for the Community of Madrid, Ángel Gabilondo, insisted that in these elections “democracy will win or hate will win”, and warned the “aggressors” that the Socialists and the left “will stop them in their tracks“.

“They wanted to convince us that Madrid belonged to the PP and was the sanctuary of the ultra-right, but Madrid has woken up and said enough is enough to put an end to this nightmare“, said the socialist candidate.

He also reproached the regional president and candidate for re-election, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, for her statements that “if they call you a fascist you are on the good side of history” because she is the “accomplice” of the far-right to “encourage fear and hatred”.

The electoral event coincided with the 47th anniversary of the Carnation Revolution in Portugal, which put an end to the country´s dictatorship. Both Gabilondo and the secretary general of the PSOE in Madrid, José Manuel Franco, recalled the song that represents 25 April, “Grandola Vila Morena“, as a symbol of the Madrid that the PSOE wants: “In every corner a friend, in every face equality”.

Gabilondo’s warning

The PSOE candidate for the Presidency of the Community of Madrid, Ángel Gabilondo, warned the far-right this Sunday that “no threat” will stop his left-wing heart beating and insisted that he wants “words and not bullets”.

“I say to the aggressors: here we are, we are the left and we are not going to apologise for it. We have our pride, we are the PSOE. These days I have sensed how Madrid is rebelling, how it is revolted by a nightmare that reminds us of dark times in the past and we do not want that to return”, said Gabilondo.

For the Socialist candidate, two things can happen on 4 May: “either democracy wins or insults and hatred win. For this reason, he urged “all democrats” to mobilise on 4 May to stop the extremism of the far-right “with human values”, at the ballot box, so that the latter does not happen.

“We democrats are more, more united and equal. There are nine days left to vote, there is plenty of time to silence the discourse of hatred with hope, enthusiasm and dignity. Vote by vote we will achieve it”, he said.

He also insisted that he was “outraged” by the “indifference” of the regional president and PP candidate for re-election, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, and the mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, in the face of the threats from “their ultra-right-wing partners”.

In his opinion, this “indifference” is causing the “far-right to take shape”, since in order to reach the institutions fascism “needs accomplices”. In view of this, he believes that the people of Madrid must “defend themselves from totalitarian thoughts and not allow themselves to be dragged down and humiliated by them”.

Non-confined zone

Furthermore, the Consejería de Sanidad de la Comunidad de Madrid will study whether the meeting held this Sunday by the PSOE in a confined basic health area of Getafe constitutes an infraction.

The Juan de la Cierva Municipal Sports Centre in Getafe was the venue for an election campaign rally by the PSOE candidate for the Presidency of the Community of Madrid, Ángel Gabilondo, which was also attended by the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, as well as the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska.

The sports facilities are located on Avenida Don Juan de Borbón, and belong to the basic health area of Las Margaritas, which is confined until 00:00 on 3 May.

“The reasons for entering and leaving areas or localities with mobility restrictions are set out in the orders of the Regional Ministry of Health, so going to an electoral event is not a justified cause. The organisation of these electoral events must follow the same rules of containment as any other event,” a spokesperson for the Regional Ministry of Health told Europa Press.

When asked if the holding of the rally could lead to a sanction, the spokesman replied that it will be “studied” and “if it constitutes an infringement, action will be taken”.

As established by Order 1405/2020, of 22 October, of the Regional Ministry of Health, which adopts specific temporary and exceptional measures for reasons of public health for the containment of Covid-19 in certain population centres, as a result of the epidemiological developments, the entry and exit of people is restricted except for those movements, properly justified, that occur for a number of reasons.

“Among them, is the fulfilment of work, professional, business, institutional or legal obligations. It does not seem logical to include an election meeting in this case“, the Regional Ministry of Health pointed out, while clarifying that going to vote would be justified.

The mayor of Getafe, Sara Hernández (PSOE), has assured that the sports facility “is not confined and is continuing its operations with absolute normality”. “Any citizen of Madrid from outside the municipality can come to these facilities,” she said.