Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched in central Madrid on Sunday to call for an early general election, protesting the government of Socialist Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez amidst persisting charges of corruption. Opposition People’s Party (PP) led the rally using the slogan “mafia or democracy,” with an estimated 45,000 to 100,000 attending.
Sanchez’s government and inner circle have been accused of widespread corruption in the past year, which has subjected them to mounting political pressure. Most recently, one of the former members of the Socialist party, Leire Diaz, quit after recordings were leaked that implicated her as seeking judicial clemency for spilling lewd information about the Guardia Civil police squad probing Sanchez’s relatives, his wife Begona Gomez and brother David Sanchez. Diaz denied serving the prime minister or PSOE, saying she was investigating a book on corruption.
At the Plaza de Espana protest, protesters marched with placards bearing inscriptions such as “Sanchez traitor” and “government resign.” PP leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo called for Sanchez to hold a snap election, saying, “Spain needs a revolution of decency and freedom.” Sanchez has in turn accused his adversaries of waging a campaign of harassment against him and his wife, terming the accusation as “baseless” and politically driven.
While Sanchez is under examination, opposition PP is also being investigated into how it has managed crises like the fatal floods last year in Valencia and dramas involving Isabel Diaz Ayuso, president of the Madrid region. Ayuso’s boyfriend, Alberto Gonzalez Amador, is also under investigation for suspected tax avoidance and forgery of documents connected to coronavirus-related contracts.
Government officials derided the protest as a desperate last-ditch effort by the PP to take attention away from their internal problems, with ministers highlighting the protest’s small turnout relative to the PP’s bluster.
