Ten thousand people gathered in the center of Madrid to protest the government led by Spanish Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and demanded that the general election be held in advance. Currently, Sanchez's political party, government team and family are in a whirlpool of a series of corruption allegations.
The protests launched by the opposition conservative People's Party (PP) on Sunday, under the slogan of "Mafia or Democracy", attracted 45,000 to 50,000 people, according to an estimate by the central government's delegation to the region. The organizers said that the number of participants reached 100,000.
The Sanchez administration and its core circle have faced a series of allegations of corruption over the past year. The pressure has increased sharply recently as former members of the party are accused of trying to discredit the National Guard Special Operations Team under investigation by Prime Minister’s wife Begonia Gomez, his brother David Sanchez and former Transport Minister Jose Luis Avalos.
Leire Diaz withdrew from the Workers' Socialist Party after the recording leaked, and in the recording she seemed to promise to trade judicial forgiveness for the black material from the top leaders of the action group. She denied acting on behalf of the prime minister or political party, saying she was conducting research on a book about corruption.
Demonstrators gathered in Plaza de Espanyol under the scorching noon, holding placards with slogans such as "Sanchez Traitor" and "Government Leaving". BJP leader Alberto Nunes Fejo once again called for an early election.
"Spain needs a revolution of integrity and freedom—we will lead it through street movements and ballot boxes," he shouted to the crowd. "Mr. Sanchez, stop hiding, lying and escaping. The Spanish people are very clear about your true face and what you have done. Please give in to democracy. Announce the election: we want it now, because no one votes for the status quo, even your supporters are no exception."
The Prime Minister accused his political opponents and the media of launching "harassment and bullying" against him and his wife, saying that the false accusations against his wife were intended to lead to his "personal and political career collapse."
Gomez is under investigation for suspected corruption and rent-seeking, after the far-right affiliated organization "Innocence Hand" filed a lawsuit. The self-proclaimed union, which has long used the judicial system to combat political targets, is now accusing Gomez of using his prime minister’s wife to obtain sponsorship for the university master’s program he chairs. Sanchez said the allegations against his wife were groundless and were "a despicable frame-up planned by the far-right group behind the scenes."
At the same time, David Sanchez is facing trial on suspicion of influence transactions and other charges, the case also began with charges from organizations such as "Clean Hand". He denied all the charges.
The Sanchez administration has been questioned since February last year, when it was reported that the Prime Minister's close ally and confidant Avalos' aide was arrested for allegedly accepting bribes to facilitate mask contracts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The BJP, which stepped down seven years ago due to a series of corruption scandals, is now under scrutiny for multiple issues, especially the response to the deadly floods in the Valencia region that it governs last year.
Isabel Dias Ayuso, chairman of the populist BJP in Madrid - also one of the prime minister's most intense critics - is due to the continued questioning of his government's epidemic prevention measures during the epidemic, with more than 7,200 deaths in nursing homes in the region at the beginning of the epidemic. Additionally, as the judge began investigating the business deal of her partner, Alberto Gonzalez Amador, she had to defend her relationship with her partner.
Gonzalez Amador is under investigation for several suspected illegal acts and is charged with two counts of tax fraud and one count of document forgery involving fees he charged to a company that imported masks during the pandemic. Ayuso said her partner was targeted by "state-owned authority" purely because of her relationship with her, and a member of her administration recently said that the principle of presumption of innocence should be respected.
The government tried to downplay the protests, saying that these protests were just manifestations of the BJP's despair.
Spain's aggressive Minister of Transport Oscar Puente released aerial photos showing that the square is far from full, while Minister of Digital Transformation Oscar Lopez said the protest was to divert attention from Fejo's poor leadership and the problems facing Ayuso.
They were really nervous," Lopez wrote on X. "Because they filled the Plaza de España with abusiveness, not the crowd...we are moving forward as they poured dirty water around.
