As of: 01/21/2023 7:45 p.m
At least 30,000 people demonstrated in Madrid against Prime Minister Sanchez’s criminal justice reform. Among other things, they accuse his left-wing minority government of entering into alliances with separatists in Catalonia.
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Madrid against the government of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. According to the Spanish government, around 30,000 people gathered in the central Cibeles Square. The organizers spoke of 700,000 participants.
Several right-wing groups had called for the protests, supported by the far-right Vox party, the conservative PP party and the centre-right Ciudadanos party. The demonstrators waved Spanish flags and called on Sánchez to resign. Some held up banners with a photo of the socialist leader and called him a “traitor”.
Outrage over criminal justice reform
The reason for the protest was a controversial criminal law reform. In December, after heated debates, the Spanish Parliament abolished the criminal offense of rioting and replaced it with the criminal offense of disturbing public order. This provides for less severe penalties. Speakers accused the government of forming alliances with separatists in Catalonia and other regions.
Under the old law, nine Catalan separatist leaders were convicted for their role in the failed 2017 independence referendum. The pardon for imprisoned separatists last year also met with sharp criticism. Sánchez wanted to enable new negotiations between the central government and them.
Conservatives are also angry at a sexual violence law that has increased penalties for rape but eased penalties for other sexual offences.
Several elections are pending
Vox boss Santiago Abascal described Sanchez’s cabinet as “the worst government in history”. You have “divided the Spaniards and released rapists and putschists”. With a view to the pandemic-related contact restrictions, he explained that the government had disregarded the constitution and imprisoned countless Spaniards. PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo did not take part in the demonstration, but called on his party members to take part. Since his election as party leader last April, Núñez Feijóo has been trying to move the party to the centre.
At a socialist rally in Valladolid, 200 kilometers away, Sánchez declared that the protesters in Madrid stood for a one-sided and therefore discriminatory Spain.
Parliamentary elections are planned in Spain at the end of the year. According to recent polls, the PP would get the most votes, but would have to form a coalition with Vox for a government majority. Regional and local elections are also scheduled for May. The government under the socialist Sánchez does not have its own parliamentary majority. It therefore needs the support of Basque and Catalan separatists for important legislative projects.