Tens of thousands of people gathered at the Plaza de España in Madrid on Sunday to partake in a protest demanding the resignation of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. The protesters, led by Spain’s main opposition party, the Popular Party (PP), waved red and yellow flags at the square, calling for a snap election.
Held under the slogan “Mafia or Democracy”, the protest comes after the announcement of several ongoing investigations that involve the Spanish Prime Minister’s close family and government.
According to the government, the turnout for the demonstration stood between 45,000 and 50,000, while the PP claimed it to be much higher, allegedly going up to 100,000 individuals “taking a stand for “decency and freedom”. The opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo addressed the crowd, calling on Sanchez to “stop hiding, stop lying and stop running”, insisting that Spain needed a new general election.
PM Sanchez’s administration has been subjected to intense scrutiny as a result of the mounting corruption allegations, with his wife, Begoña Gomez, currently under investigation following a complaint made by the Manos Limpias group. The group accuses her of gaining sponsorship for a university course she oversaw, using her influence as leverage.
Sanchez has denied these claims, stating that they were smear campaigns that aimed to orchestrate his “personal and political collapse”.
A case also instigated by the Manos Limpias has led to PM Sanchez’s brother, David Sanchez, facing trial over the alleged influence of peddling, along with former cabinet member José Luis Ábalos being put under fire following the arrest of an aide for allegedly accepting payment for pandemic-related contracts.
A former Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) member, Liere Diaz, has denied allegations that she attempted to manipulate the judiciary in favor of Sanchez by offering leniency in exchange for compromising information on investigators.
However, the PP is also facing criticism, with its regional president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, also being placed under pressure over her response to the pandemic as well as her partner’s business dealings.
The partner in question, Alberto González Amador is currently facing investigations for alleged tax fraud in relation to the pandemic supply contracts, with Ayuso claiming that he is being targeted unfairly.
The government downplayed the scale of the Sunday protests with Transport Minister Óscar Puente posting aerial pictures of the plaza appearing to be not as full as portrayed by the opposition, and Digital Transformation Minister Óscar López addressing the issue on X, stating that the opposition is “really nervous” and have “filled the Plaza de España with insults but not with people”.
