Thousands protest in Madrid against Pedro Sánchez’s government
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Massive protest in Madrid to call for the resignation of Pedro Sánchez
Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Plaza de Colón in Madrid. The Platform for Constitutional Spain, which brings together 129 civic associations, called for a protest. The protest was supported by two of the three most popular parties in Spain, the Popular Party and Vox. Numerous Spanish flags were waved at the protest, and the National Anthem was played. As usual, the government has only issued disqualifications against the democratic opposition protesters.
The authoritarian drift of Pedro Sánchez’s government, his corruption scandals, and his incompetence have received a new response today.
Blackout: Spain follows in the footsteps of Cuba and Venezuela on its journey to the Third World
A blackout with deaths and no resignations: socialism never admits mistakes in Spain
The Platform for Constitutional Spain, which brings together 129 civic associations, has called for a protest in Madrid’s Plaza de Colón that brought together tens of thousands of people to demand Sánchez’s resignation and the calling of new elections. The protest was supported by two of the three most popular parties in Spain, the Popular Party and Vox. The demonstration was well attended despite the inclement weather this morning in Madrid. Numerous Spanish flags were waved at the protest, and the National Anthem was played.
As usual, the government has only issued disqualifications against the democratic opposition protesters, criticism that the government never directs at its allies who call for tributes to ETA terrorists and events in which Spanish flags are burned. “Today all those who reject all the progress made in this country are demonstrating,” said the socialist Óscar López, Minister for Digital Transformation. By “progress,” he must be referring to the fact that we are the country with the highest unemployment in Europe and the only one that has had a national blackout, to the government’s corruption scandals, to the railway chaos, and to the government’s attacks on the rule of law, judges, and the free media. And they still have the nerve to boast about this.
You can see some images of this protest here.
Photo: @ShaAcabat.
Photo: @blck_wtr_.
Photo: @blck_wtr_.
Photo: @pp_latina.
Photo: @Isabelperezmoi1.
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Ayuso, in front of 50,000 people: “Those who have expelled Spanish for creating new identities are the ones who are not needed.”
Alberto Núñez Feijóo has once again mobilized in the streets against Pedro Sánchez. As usual, the Madrid president has adopted “dictatorship” and has not shied away the latest conflict with Catalan. “What does it matter if the Civil Guard is removed from certain regions? What does itmatter if the university of the Basque Country is stripped of its Spanish name? That’s how you enter a dictatorship,” the president of the Community of Madrid said. “Surrender to democracy. Call elections. We want them now. No one voted for you to do this. Not even your own people,” he told the Spanish prime minister. “No one will remove me from the center of power. We will put the People’s Party (PP) back at the centre of political life,” he declared. “I am committed not only to winning, but to governing,” Feijo said, differentiating his “principles and values” from the “decadence” of the current Spanish government.
“In Madrid we hear all the accents of Castilian, our cultural wealth, which also passes through the co-official languages in other regions; here, politics does not divide the lives of citizens,” Ayuso defended, who said in Catalan, Galician, and Basque that “no one is a stranger.” “Spain is not plurinational. We are not foreigners in our home. Those who have expelled Spanish to fabricate new identities are the ones who are unnecessary. What would any nation give to have a language that unites us with 600 million speakers?” she exclaimed. Later, Feijóo said that in his party there are “different styles and intensities” and that he does not have “any Spaniards to spare.” Ayuso has not ignored the controversy with the Minister of Health, Mónica García, at the Conference of Presidents: “Less kisses and more respect.”
With an exasperated speech—in fact, Feijóo did not mention the “mafia”—the president of Madrid warned that “the problem is that dictatorships come in small, little by little, in a harmless and seemingly inoffensive way.” “What does it matter if the Civil Guard is removed from certain regions? What does it matter if the university of the Basque Country is stripped of its Spanish name? What does it matter if coup plotters are amnestied? What does it matter if Bildu is allowed to publish lists with terrorists? That’s how you enter a dictatorship,” the president of the Community of Madrid continued. “But Venezuela? No,” Ayuso warned, in contrast to Feijóo, who called for Sánchez to be put down “democratically at the polls.”
Feijóo: “No one will move me from the center of attention”
“Surrender to democracy. Call elections. We want them now. No one voted for you to do this. Not even your own people. Do it if you’re as democratic as you say you are,” Feijóo challenged the Spanish prime minister, who has no intention of bringing forward the elections. The conservative president won the June 23rd elections, but was unable to form a government because, with Vox as a minority partner, he didn’t have an absolute majority, and there was no other party willing to enter the equation with the far right. The same thing would happen to him now if he tried to push through a vote of no confidence, and that’s why he intended to hold a rally without PP flags to bring together all Spaniards who want to put an end to Sánchez. “I hope the rest of the leaders understand that this isn’t about acronyms,” he said, addressing Santiago Abascal.
In this sense, Feijóo called for “centrality” to be able to defeat Sánchez. “No one will remove me from the center of power. We will put the People’s Party (PP) back at the center of political life. This is what we are going to do, and what will open the door to the Moncloa Palace,” he declared. “I am committed not only to winning, but to governing,” Feijóo said, differentiating his “principles and values” from the “decadence” of the current Spanish government. “With independent justice, yes; with true and free journalists, yes; with well-equipped and respected security forces and bodies, yes; with the plumbers [from Ferraz]; with honesty in the face of corruption, with cleanliness in the face of sewers, with truth in the face of lies, yes,” he exclaimed.
Buses from all over the State
The People’s Party (PP) had already put the bandage on the wound and did not choose the largest venue in Madrid. It preferred not to hold the rally in Plaza de Colón, Puerta de Alcalá, or the Puerta del Sol as on other occasions, but in the Plaza Espanya, which had a smaller capacity. However, it was filled with protesters with Spanish flags and ended up overflowing the Gran Via. “Today we will call Sánchez a liar,” said some attendees shortly before the event, seeking shade in the square due to the high temperatures. “Sánchez, resign,” they shouted. The soundtrack was no coincidence and played Lady (Hear me tonight), by Modjo, which when pronounced sounds like it says Leire (At least that’s what the attendees were singing).
With the intention of meeting expectations, the People’s Party (PP) organized the arrival of buses from all over Spain. However, the numbers fell short of previous gatherings, leading the PSOE to consider it a “failure.” “The Spanish cannot stand anti-politics and the ultra-right method,” emphasize socialist sources. Until now, the vast majority of events of this type had been organized by Feijóo. on the occasion of the approval of the amnesty law, or by the court cases affecting his entourage, while this time the alleged dirty war campaign by former PSOE member Leire Díez – with doubts about the extent to which Ferraz externally endorsed these maneuvers – against judges, prosecutors and Civil Guard officials has been the main reason.
Along with Feijóo and Ayuso, former Spanish Prime Ministers José María Aznar and Mariano Rajoy also attended the protest. Ministers from their eras were ravaged by corruption, such as former Balearic President Jaume Matas, and Rajoy was forced to leave the Moncloa Palace due to a vote of no confidence in response to the Gürtel case conviction. The Kitchen case is about to be heard in the National Court, with Jorge Fernández Díaz charged with the frenetic activity of the sewers while he headed the Ministry of the Interior. Ayuso’s partner also faces a complicated legal horizon for tax fraud. The Madrid Prime Minister, however, has diverted attention in recent hours with the conflict over Catalan and Basque at the Conference of Presidents on Friday in Barcelona.
A broad representation of regional PP leaders also attended the mobilization, such as the president of the Generalitat Valenciana, Carlos Mazón, who was recognized for his management of the DANA (National Anti-Drug Trafficking Act), accompanied by the Popular Party leader in Barcelona, Daniel Sirera. Also in attendance were the president of the Balearic Islands, Marga Prohens; the Andalusian Juanma Moreno; the presidents of Murcia and Castilla y León, Fernando López Miras and Alfonso Fernández Mañueco; the Galician Alfonso Rueda; the Extremaduran María Guardiola; as well as almost the entire management of Génova and the spokesperson.
Call for a Large Demonstration to Demand Pedro Sánchez’s Resignation
More than a hundred civil society associations have called for a rally in Plaza Colón in Madrid on May 10 at 12 p.m. They will demand President Pedro Sánchez’s resignation and the calling of new elections. The last demonstration was on October 20, 2024. The opposition believes that the time has come to take to the streets again to increase pressure on a government on the ropes. The government could face a hot autumn if it finally accedes to the demands of ERC and Junts, the authors say. The return of the anti-SáncheZ movement is bad news for the government, which now lacks the strength to resist, they say.
| ACN
More than a hundred civil society associations have called for a rally in Plaza Colón in Madrid on May 10 at 12 p.m. Under the slogan “For the Dignity of Spain,” they will demand President Pedro Sánchez’s resignation and the calling of new elections.
The organizers are the 129 civic entities grouped in the Platform for Constitutional Spain. The opposition believes that the time has come to take to the streets again to increase pressure on a government on the ropes. They think Sánchez’s government has never been so weak and could fall at any moment.
President Pedro Sánchez is besieged by scandals, especially due to new information emerging about former minister Ábalos. Meanwhile, he remains a hostage to the blackmail of the separatists. The weakness of his government, without budgets or parliamentary stability, turns every vote into an auction.
The Government, in the Hands of Podemos and Junts
Podemos recently hinted at the possibility that President Pedro Sánchez might call early elections next year, coinciding with the Andalusian elections. It’s not far-fetched. If he fails to approve the 2026 budgets, it seems very difficult for him to complete the legislature.
It should be remembered that President Pedro Sánchez is governing with the 2024 accounts extended due to his inability to approve those for 2025. PSOE has already given up negotiating this year’s accounts and has started preparing those for next year. But it will be very difficult, especially due to the growing hostility from Podemos and Junts.
Podemos has already shown its reluctance to approve budgets with increased defense spending. Moreover, the party believes this is a good time to face elections. They want to take advantage of Sumar’s decline and the relaunch of Irene Montero’s figure.
Junts conditions its support for the government on fulfilling its commitments before the summer. Especially the amnesty, which the Supreme Court has left in limbo and which seriously threatens Carles Puigdemont’s political restitution. The only thing that reassures PSOE is that the polls don’t favor Junts, for whom elections wouldn’t benefit at all.
Sánchez Fears a Hot Autumn
The return of the anti-Sánchez movement to the streets is bad news for the government, which now lacks the strength to resist. If it finally accedes to the demands of ERC and Junts, the government could face a hot autumn. PSOE fears ending up abandoned by its partners and at the mercy of social indignation.
The last demonstration was on October 20, 2024. The entities insisted on dissociating the mobilizations from political parties, presenting it as a defense of democracy beyond ideology. They denounced the government’s connivance with separatism, the colonization of institutions, the lack of separation of powers, and cases of corruption.
Thousands of people in Spain support the worldwide marches for freedom in Venezuela
Thousands of people participated in the various demonstrations and rallies held in thirty Spanish cities. In Madrid, the largest concentration took place in Puerta del Sol, with numerous Venezuelans and Spaniards demanding a ‘Venezuela without dictatorships’ The general secretary of the PP, Cuca Gamarra, announced, in statements to Europa Press, that her party will put to a vote at the first plenary session of Congress in September an initiative for Spain to pronounce itself on the elections in Venezuela on July 28 and recognize the victory of the opposition candidate, Edmundo González. The non-legislative proposal has serious options of being approved in light of the positions shown by the parliamentary groups, since not only the PP and Vox advocate recognizing the victory, but also parliamentary partners of the Government such as the PNV or Coalición Canaria.
Thousands of people participated yesterday in the various demonstrations and rallies held in thirty Spanish cities, following the call made worldwide in favor of freedom in Venezuela, against the repression practiced by the Bolivarian regime and to demand the publication of the minutes of the elections of July 28.
More than three hundred cities around the world, including towns in Latin America, North America, Europe, Asia and Oceania, held demonstrations yesterday, supporting the one held in Caracas with the presence of opposition leaders – presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia and María Corina Machado – to denounce what they consider electoral fraud, after Nicolás Maduro declared himself the winner of the elections.
In front of a crowd of protesters and amid a large police deployment, María Corina Machado said that “the time has come to collect, that every vote is respected”, words that were chanted by her followers with cries of “Freedom”, while they held banners and Venezuelan flags.
In Madrid, the largest concentration took place in Puerta del Sol, with numerous Venezuelans and Spaniards demanding a “Venezuela without dictatorships” and chanting cries of “freedom, freedom”. The event was attended by PP leaders, headed by the president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, who took the floor to, among other things, criticise the Spanish Government for “not always having been there” in defence of freedom in Venezuela and to denounce the attitude of the former President of the Government José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, of whom she said that “he has a lot to keep quiet”.
PP initiative in Congress
Meanwhile, the general secretary of the PP, Cuca Gamarra, announced, in statements to Europa Press, that her party will put to a vote at the first plenary session of Congress in September an initiative for Spain to pronounce itself on the elections in Venezuela on July 28 and recognize the victory of the opposition candidate, Edmundo González, without waiting for the position adopted by the Government of Pedro Sánchez.
In this way, the PP intends that Spain, “beyond Pedro Sánchez”, defend “democracy in Venezuela and the electoral result that democracies around the world are recognizing and demanding.” A position, Gamarra clarified, that is compatible with continuing “demanding transparency” and Maduro making the minutes public.
The non-legislative proposal has serious options of being approved in light of the positions shown by the parliamentary groups, since not only the PP and Vox advocate recognizing the victory of the opposition, but also parliamentary partners of the Government such as the PNV or Coalición Canaria.
The ‘popular’ leader criticized the role of the former president of the Government José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, who has acted as an international observer of the Venezuelan elections, reproaching him for not having condemned “the repression that has been experienced since the day of the elections in Venezuela.”
Questioned about the reason for this “silence” of the former socialist leader and whether she suspects that there are particular interests behind it, Gamarra said that “what is clear” is that this silence “separates him from the great international consensus.” “That only leads us to think badly,” she added.
Similarly, she charged against the Executive, maintaining that “the commitments that Zapatero has with Maduro” are those that “condition and keep Pedro Sánchez imprisoned.” “What does Rodríguez Zapatero owe Maduro that he is even conditioning the response of the Spanish government?” he asked.
Gamarra said that Zapatero “will have to explain himself” in the European Parliament in September, at the request of the European People’s Party (EPP) “at the behest of the Spanish PP.”
Spanish Popular Party launches EU election campaign with thousands gathered in Madrid
Spain’s Popular Party (PP) launched its campaign for the European elections on Sunday with a large rally at Madrid’s Puerta de Alcalá. Participants voiced their anger over the pardoning of Catalan independence leaders and the policies of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s current coalition government. At the event, which drew around 80,000 people according to organisers and 20,000 according to the government delegation, the PP president urged citizens to reject the current government at the ballot box. Although polls suggest that the PP is set to win the EU elections, Pedro Sábado’s Socialist Party has managed to narrow the gap in recent weeks.
Spain’s Popular Party (PP) launched its campaign for the European elections on Sunday with a large rally at Madrid’s Puerta de Alcalá, demonstrating their opposition to the Amnesty Law, set for final approval in Congress this Thursday.
Surrounded by a sea of Spanish and European flags, participants voiced their anger over the pardoning of Catalan independence leaders and the policies of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s current coalition government.
“We came to defend the equality of all Spaniards and the primacy of the Constitution,” one demonstrator told Euronews.
The PP leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, called on Sánchez to withdraw the amnesty law and demanded early general elections, arguing that the coalition government lacks sufficient parliamentary support, forcing the government to abandon the general state budgets and the failure of several legislative initiatives in Congress.
“Since this legislature is lost, since this government has the country at a standstill, it’s pointless for it to continue,” Feijóo said at the Puerta de Alcalá.
At the event, which drew around 80,000 people according to organisers and 20,000 according to the government delegation, the PP president urged citizens to reject the current government at the ballot box and resist what he views as Pedro Sánchez’s authoritarian drift.
“They want us to be servants. The prime minister is not the master of anything; he is a public servant,” said Feijóo, claiming that Sánchez resorts to criticising the media and the far-right to silence his political opponents.
“They want us distracted with their theatrical strategies, like servants, as ministers say Sánchez is the master, and demotivated and demobilised. Here we are, more eager than ever. That’s why we’re going to vote united to win,” he added.
The Popular Party framed the European elections as a referendum against the Spanish prime minister, seeking to ensure that the voice of the Spanish people is strongly heard in Europe.
“We’ve had enough of turning the other cheek,” Feijóo said: “We will cast our vote on June 9 to respond to so much outrage.”
The PP seeks to rally its base against the amnesty for Carles Puigdemont. It also aims to gauge its street-level influence against Prime Minister Sánchez’s policies, particularly following the recent election outcomes in Catalonia, which Feijóo argues validate his approach to sovereignty.
The PP hopes the EU elections will signal Sánchez a shift in Spain’s political landscape. Although polls suggest that the PP is set to win the European elections, Pedro Sánchez’s Socialist Party has managed to narrow the gap in recent weeks.