Spanish elections and politics III / Pedro Sánchez faces a new term as PM

[Velasco]

Some analysts say Iglesias made a mastery move, worthy of Baron Noir. Personally I am speechless and don't know what to think. UP was lacking a candidate and polls say it's in serious peril, while Errejón rejected a unitary list. The failed attempt to overturn an entrenched a system of regional power, sustained by the agraricultural property, the real estate business and tCatholic fundamentalists (San Antonio Catholic University) has triggered a perfect political storm. We are at the Ihe Ides of March. It's clear to me that Ayuso and whoever is behind her have the intent to anihilate Cs and humiliate the left in Madrid. Pablo Casado is already the hostage of Ayuso and Vox. Madrid could become a vector of instability as serious as Catalonia for the years to come.

What will be the next steps of Inés Arrimadas and Íñigo Errejón?

As for the motion in Murcia, leaving aside the miscalculation of PSOE and Cs (R.I.P), it's fascinating to read the chronicles telling the story of how the Cs traitors were bought

[Velasco]

Bold move of Pablo Iglesias at the Ides of March

https://english.elpais.com/politics/2021-03-15/deputy-pm-pablo-iglesias-makes-surprise-move-to-run-in-the-madrid-regional-elections.html

What began as a power play in one of Spain’s smaller regions last week has snowballed into a series of unexpected moves and counter-moves that are changing the country’s political landscape.

In the most recent development, Spain’s second Deputy Prime Minister Pablo Iglesias, who is the leader of the leftist Unidas Podemos party, on Monday morning said he is quitting the Socialist Party-led coalition government in order to run as the Podemos candidate in an early election announced for the Madrid region.

Iglesias said he made the decision “to prevent the far right from taking over the institutions.” He added that he will be reaching out to Íñigo Errejón, leader of the leftist Más País and one of the original founders of Podemos, to make a joint run for the regional premiership in order to defeat the incumbent, Isabel Díaz Ayuso of the Popular Party (PP).  

Más Madrid candidate Mónica García says that she's open to talk, but MM folks are not going to feel comfortable locked in a room with Pablo Iglesias. Abyway, regardless the outcome, this is the departure of the charismatic leader and founder of Podemos. UP under Yolanda Diaz will be a very different organization. Remember that she is not a Podemos member, but a member of the PCE. Pedro Sánchez says there will be continuity in the government with Yolanda Diaz as deputy PM, but socialists are puzzled. The elections in Madrid are not merely regional and the polarization will be extreme

[Velasco]

UP under Yolanda Diaz will be a very different organization. Remember that she is not a Podemos member, but a member of the PCE.

Could you elaborate on this? What is the internal culture of the PCE these days?

It's hard to tell what's the internal culture of the PCE nowadays, because the role of the party has become increasingly testimonial as the importance of the organization has diminished over the years. As you probably know,  the PCE was the hegemonic organization within IU. Initially IU was conceived as an electoral coalition or a vehicle for the PCE,  but gradually the party gave up protagonism to IU. The modest electoral success of IU and its secondary role within UP since 2016 have blurred the role and the importance of the PCE. It's crear that the party is far away from the reformist stance and the eurocommunist line imposed by Santiago Carrillo during the years of the Transition (there was a fierce struggle between reformist and orthodox factions by then) snd supports a rupturist stance with regards the polítical system born in 1978. But again, the influence the PCE has diminished in to a great degree and it's not apparent the party line has influenced Yolanda Diaz in her role as cabinet member.

Yolanda Diaz has a background as lawyer specialized in labour law with links to the trade unions. Her family was renowned within the trade union movement and the opposition to the Franco regime. Ironically Franco and Diaz are both from El Ferrol,  a town in Galicia with an important naval base and a shipyard industry. The background of Pablo Iglesias is very different, as he was a young political science professor at the Complutense University.  So it's reasonable to expect that the different background and personality of Yolanda Diaz will reflect in UP if she becomes the new leading figure.

Yolanda Díaz has revealed an ability for negotiation in her tenure as Labour minister,  achieving important compromises between trade unions and employers associations. She is a woman of solid political convictions and behind her smiles and soft manners there is a strong personality. She has higher approval rates and is less divisive than Pablo Iglesias,  but obviously she has a lower name recognition.

It's ironic that Spain will have its first communist deputy PM when the Communist Party is in a historical minimum.

[Velasco]

Pablo Iglesias offered Alberto Garzón to be candidate in Madrid,  but the IU leader refused considering his place is not in regional politics.  Podemos was lacking an appropiate candidate for this tough contest and UP was falling below the 5% threshold in opinion polls. This dire situation accelerated a plan that Iglesias had in mind,  as he had no intention to contest the next general elections and has been thinking that Yolanda Díaz was the best replacement. Yolanda Diaz was initially reluctant when Iglesias began to suggest that she could be a good candidate for general elections. Diaz left IU in 2019 over differences with Alberto Garzón,  but she retains the PCE membership. She has a good relationship with the PCE secretary general Enrique Santiago,  a discreet man who played a role in the failed negotiation between PSOE and UP in the summer of 2019.  She is also in good terms with Barcelona mayor Ada Colau and ECP,  but her only contact with Podemos is through Pablo Iglesias. Diaz and Iglesias have been friends for years, even before the latter launched Podemos in January 2014

Ayuso has changed her slogan to "Communism or Freedom"

https://twitter.com/IdiazAyuso/status/1371421665708609536?s=19

 Looking at her Twitter account, I found out that football player Luis Figo endorses her ("A por ellos y Libertad") and that there is a new pizza called "Madonna Ayuso"

[Velasco]

Más Madrid candidate Mónica García says that she has been performing a strong opposition in the Madrid regional assembly and that the time when women were relegated by men has passed. She offers cooperation but vindicates an autonomous project: green, feminist and regionalist

"I am Mónica Garcia, 47 years old. I am a doctor in the public healthcare system and mother. I want to be the next regional president"

https://twitter.com/ierrejon/status/1371773052149710850?s=19

[Velasco]

Pedro Sánchez and Pablo Iglesias have agreed that Yolanda Díaz will continue as Labour Minister,  as well as she will replace Iglesias as Deputy PM. However, Yolanda Díaz will be the Third Deputy PM and not the second. The reason is that granting Diaz the post of Second Deputy PM held by Iglesias would place her above Nadia Calviño, the Minister of Economy. Sánchez deemed an incongruency that that Labour is above Economy in the hierarchy, so Nadia Calviño is upgraded to Second Deputy PM with the task of coordinating the economic policies.  The Podemos MP for Navarra Ione Belarra will replace Pablo Iglesias in the Social Rights and 2030 Agenda portfolios. Worth noting that Yolanda Diaz and Nadia Calviño had had disagreements on issues like minimun wage and labour reform.  However, their differences in the cabinet meetings have not bien aired in public statements.  Much unlike Iglesias, who has been criticized for his tendency to state publicly disagreements with Sánchez and the PSOE in order to mark his territory.

Unless Abbas Khal launches the Re-Reconquista and restores al-Ándalus to its rightful Islamic owners, I’m not interested.

The reestablishment of Al-Andalus Caliphate would be great,  for it would give Santiago Abascal a pretext to mount his horse in full armor like Santiago Matamoros. Don't you find strange that Abascal is going to hold a press statement in a public square? I'd say that looks more like a covert rally.

All three have Ayuso winning easily, but whether she'll get a majority with VOX's seats isn't set in stone. GAD3's poll is exceptionally bad for Cs.

So Podemos did get a bump after Iglesias's announcement, and could overtake Más Madrid

I'd say the hopes of the left pass through Cs falling below threshold. In that case the left could have a slight chance to get more votes than PP and Vox. However, the left needs to mobilize its base at least in a similar degree to the right. i think the hostile bid against Cs will intensify and all the conservative media iutlets are rallying behind Ayuso, so the chances for the left look rather slim. But apparently the move of Iglesias is helping to prevent that the left is going to be crushed, averting the risk of UP falling below threshold. It's still an open match, but the right and the far-right have advantage.

[Velasco]

There have been some new developments recently. For instance,  former Cs leading figure Toni Cantó left the party and his home Valencia region to join the PP placed 5th in the list headed by Ayuso.  I feel lazy to make updates these days,  so please tack50  or mimoha post something

[Velasco]

There have been some new developments recently. For instance,  former Cs leading figure Toni Cantó left the party and his home Valencia region to join the PP placed 5th in the list headed by Ayuso.  I feel lazy to make updates these days,  so please tack50  or mimoha post something

Don't worry, we've got your back! Though MRCVzla has already covered almost everything (welcome to the thread, btw)

I didn't read the MRCVzla update,  sorry.

Have you read the article about the clandestine parties today in El País? I have not found it yet in the English edition, but it's amazing and worth reading. Maybe Cantó wants to be where is all the fun in Spain. "Madrid, Land of Freedom  🇪🇸 "

Also, I heard something in previous weeks about differences between PSOE and UP on limits to rent prices,  but I need to get up to date with the news

[Velasco]

Here is the English version of the article. Madrid es una fiesta

https://english.elpais.com/society/2021-03-29/madrids-nightlife-rages-on-despite-pandemic-these-parties-give-me-life.html

 “The party continues at home, like it does every weekend.” It’s Friday night in Madrid’s famous Puerta del Sol square. Three young people are carrying bags filled with bottles of rum. They walk quickly. It’s 11pm, the time when Madrid’s curfew begins and bars and restaurants close. But there’s no sign of people rushing home. Instead, they gather outside the closing bars, eager for the night to continue. Plastic cups and cigarette butts litter the street, and there is lots of singing and hugging. And very few face masks. It’s just another weekend in Madrid, and youngsters are partying like there is no pandemic.

Shortly before these scenes on Friday, the regional premier of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso of the conservative Popular Party (PP), shared a video on Twitter of the owners of well-known bars and restaurants of the capital saying “Madrid is freedom” and “We are more alive than ever.” In Madrid – the region with the least strict coronavirus restrictions in Spain – the incidence rate has been steadily rising since last week, and the 14-day cumulative number of cases per 100,000 inhabitants now stands at 241.12. When the permitted social activity ends, the clandestine parties begin. Once the curfew starts, the most pressing question is: “Where to now?”  

Apparently this election is set to be a PP landslide, given that rightwing voters are much more motivated to turn out than leftwing voters. 7 out of 10 Cs voters in the last regional election would be switching to the PP, while a similar proportion of Vox voters would be willing to rally behind a candidate that speaks in their language (Trumpist rhetoric). On the one hand, Madrid is very different from Catalonia. The demographics of the Cs voters in Madrid make them sociologically right-leaning (middle and upper middle class professionals living in new urban developments, preferently north of the region). On the other hand, there are the root causes that make Madrid a conservative region. There is a considerable concentration of wealth and resources in the Spain's capital,  which region became a major economic centre during the Franco regime. In the last decades, the consecutive PP governments have built power and interest relationships linked to a certain way of life.  The economic and urbanistic development in Madrid has created a middle class aspiring to reach the living standards of US suburbia. Lower taxes or fiscal dumping,  alongside being the capital,  give Madrid competitive advantages with regard other Spanish regions. Ayuso is selling  "freedom" (her opponents call it "selfishness") and a different way of life.  That's a powerful message and the left is lacking motivation and compelling counter narratives.

[Velasco]

PCE secretary-general and lawyer Enrique Santiago has been appointed Secretary of State* for the Agenda 2030,  replacing the new minister of Social Rights Ione Belarra (Podemos). Pablo Iglesias quotes a Bertolt Brecht poem called 'Praise of Fighters' (1930) while regarding his friend Santiago among The Indispensable Ones

https://twitter.com/PabloIglesias/status/1376606084752871425?s=19

* In Spain, a Secretary of State is the person in charge of a department of the government, with a rank akin to a vice minister

[Velasco]

snippity snip

I've been wondering about something kind of related to this. Spain seems to have a system where right does better with middle and upper class even though it's based on the old-fashioned principle of "God, King and Country". Is there a significant disconnect between voters and party elites or is your typical Madileño suburbanite as reactionary as they seem? If so, is it just on the issue of national unity/Catalonia, or does it extend to "social issues"?

In what concerns "God, King and Country" I have to tell you Spanish society is mainly secular. I think all the Mediterranean countries with a strong Catholic tradition (i.e. Italy and France) have had a process of secularization with their particular circumstances. Anyway the conflict between economic openness (Stabilization Plan, 1959) and the oppressive national-catholic regime in Spain resulted in increasing secularization. Of course there exist religious fundamentalist elements (Opus Dei, Camino Neocatecumenal or "Kikos") that are very rightwing. This ultra catholic sector currently supports Vox or PP and apparently it's one of the main pillars of the conservative system of power in Murcia (through UCAM university), alongside landowners and builders. But focusing on the middle class professionals living in new urban developments around Madrid, a fishing ground for Cs in recent times, they are mostly secular thus not "socially conservative" in the surface. I mean, you can see Cs members in a demonstration in in favour of the LGTB rights,  even though they had incidents with activists due to their relationship with Vox in Madrid or Andalusia and have that strange fixation with 'altruist' surrogacy. But regardless what I said about the long term failure of the national-catholic regime, I think that leading politicians can influence their voters. There is a clear shift to the right and a radicalization partly triggered by Albert Rivera or Pablo Casado. The latter are staunch supporters of national unity and monarchy,  but they never speak of godly affairs (nor does Santiago Abascal, who attacks 'gay lobbies' or feminists instead). Murcia could be the first Spanish region with a far-right minister, as the members of the regional assembly expelled from Vox are demanding the Education portfolio, in order to implement parental veto on LGTB issues and "leftist indoctrination". I don't think the Cs traitors awarded with cabinet posts by premier López Miras are in a position to oppose such designs, in case they were concerned. As said earlier, Catholic fundamentalism is relatively strong and influential in Murcia. These elements are also present in Madrid and Vox suoports their agenda,  but it's up to see if Rocío Monasterio and her co-relogionists will join a government led by Isabel Díaz Ayuso and the amount of their influence.  The likely Cs vanishment implies that Vox is the only possible coalition or confidence and supply partner. I fear the "moderates" within the rightwing bloc will be the enablers of the most reactionary agendas. In short: I don't think the average centre-right suburbanite in Madrid is staunchly reactionary, but there is a process of radicalization in a context of polarization triggered (in my opinion) by certain leaders and media outlets.

On a side note Cs days are apparently numbered,  but oranges make clear that they reject coalitions with the left and seek new deals with Ayuso.

[Velasco]

So, the second Investiture vote for Pere Aragonès failed. New negotiations will start. The main clash between ERC and Junts seems to be Puigdemont role in the future government. Parties now have until May 26 to avoid new elections.

The role of Puigdemont through an instrument called "Council of the Republic". Yet another episode of the perennial struggle within the pro-independence bloc. In the end ERC and JxCAT will reach an agreement, in order to prevent that Salvador Illa and the PSC get more votes and seats in a new election

[Velasco]

I do think that the average suburbanite is either all over the place, or at least undecided on other social issues like that though; both in terms of social liberalism (I would not be too surprised if these suburbanites were in favour of marijuana legalization, or something like surrogate motherhood); and in terms of social conservatism (Charter schools generally perform better than public ones so I would not be surprised at all if these suburbanites supported them; and there is definitely a libertarian argument to be made for Vox's "Parental PIN" which allows kids whose parents don't approve to skip lessons on say, LGBT stuff)

You mention some interesting issues, which are likely to be endorsed by most suburbanites.

1) Cs supported marijuana legalization and surrogacy. In terms of "social liberalism" the former is also endorsed by Podemos, but renting wombs is regarded an exploitative practice by most of the left and the feminist movement.

2) Charter schools play with advantage with regard the public school system, as they have a double funding: public money and  "voluntary" contributions from parents. Better funding is likely to have an impact on performance.  I think it's important to clarify this point when discussing which school system is better or the fairness of public voucher systems. But yes, all the parties right of the centre (including peripheral nationalists) support charter schools and for sure our suburbanites do as well.

3) The Vox's parental veto may sound "libertarian", indeed. Let's clarify that kind of right-wing libertarianism has little to do with "social liberalism". However, it's possible that some of our suburbanites confound "libertarianism" and "social liberalism", or believe that veto is a parental right because children are parental property. Not sure if parental veto is supported by a majority,  though.

[Velasco]

Funny you mention this, since a few weeks ago I calculated how the PAUs of Madrid voted. We have data for the municipalities and neighborhoods of Madrid, but the PAUs (with the notable exception of the Ensanche de Vallecas, which is its own administrative neighborhood) are contained/split in larger administrative neighborhoods. For the November 2019 General election, we have:

If I remember correctly,  places like Sanchinarro or Las Tablas had Cs pluralities in April 2019 general elections. It'd be interesting to collect the same data for the May 2019 regional elections,  which presumably recorded strong Cs performances in the PAUS as well, in order to measure the Ayuso landslide and the Cs demise (or small transfers to rhe PSOE, in case they exist). Party vote is more interesting than block vote, given that the transfers between the left and the right are mininal in polarized environments (the same rules for Catalonia with the pro-independence block and the rest of parties)

[Velasco]

Former Vox member Mabel Campuzano will join the regional government of Murcia with the Education and Culture portfolios. Campuzano was expelled from Vox, alongside other two members of the regional assembly, due to a conflict with Javier Ortega Smith and the national leadership involving the dismissal of party employees and the access blocking to the bank accounts of the Vox regional group. The expelled Vox members have not confirmed rumours pointing to their possible incorporation to the PP, saying that they are "illusioned" to join a project to "reunify the centre-right" but stressing that they remain comitted to the Vox platform. The main goal of Campuzano and her partners is to implement the far-right agenda with the parental veto to issues like sex education or LGTB affairs as the leading measure and unwavering committment, as well as the promotion of charter schools. Previously the three members of the regional assembly who defected Cs were rewarded with posts in the cabinet led by Fernando López Miras (PP), as well as another person who was placed in the Cs list (thus ensuring majority in the eventuality of a resignation within the members elected for Cs). Campuzano is the first person linked to the far-right party that joins a regional government, maybe the prelude of PP-Vox coalitions in regions like Madrid.,  

El País reports the PP is targeting a list of 100 Cs cadres to join the ranks of the conservative party alongside Lorena Roldán, Toni Cantó and the alleged architect of the orange implosion Fran Hervías, who was the Cs secretary of organization.

Yesterday Pablo Iglesias launched his campaign in Madrid,  backed by the new Deputy PM Yolanda Díaz. "Pablo is able to change the history of our country", said the Labour minister. The 2019 candidate Isa Serra will be placed second in the UP list, followed by lawyer Vanessa Lillo (IU), anti-eviction activist Slejandra Jacinto and veteran trade unionist Agustín Moreno.

[Velasco]

The most relevant political news recently has been a Molotov Cocktail attack against the Podemos HQs in Cartagena, the second largest town in the region of Murcia. Remember the far-right will participate in the regional government as a consequence of recent developments. The PP spokesman, who happens to be Madrid mayor Almeida,  condemned the attack but added Podemos has failed to condemn attacks against the PP,  suggesting that Pablo Iglesias triggers those actions or something. I'm a bit concerned because I see a poisoned climate and certain banalization of fascism, tbh.

In what regards the cases against Podemos, they have been invariably dismissed to date. Is there a corruption scandal involving Neurona consilting? I'd be cautious, given the precedents.

While I'm personally critic of Iglesias in many respects, I empathize with him and his family in what regards the intolerable harassment they have been enduring in recent times.

As for the affair with Pérez de los Cobos, I think the Interior minister has handled his dismissal rather awkwardly. Said this, the incompetence of Perez de los Cobos handling the Catalan referendum in 2017, in addition to his recent report on March 8 demonstrations based on fake news and rejected by the judge, make him worthy of being fired and exiled to the UAE. Grande Marlaska might have to resign, though

[Velasco]

The CIS pre-election poll has been released today. Controversial as ever, the poll points to a tie between the left and the right with Cs below threshold and Vox slightly above. The seat projection below is corrected, because the original released by the CIS is not fitting with the vote edtimation (,eith such figures,  we get a likely left-wing majority)

PP 39.2% 58-59 seats
PSOE 25.3% 37-38 seats
MM 14.8% 30-21 seats
UP 8.7% 10-12 seats
VOX 5.4% 8-9 seats
Cs 4.4% 0 seats

The rest of polls released to date point to a clear right-wing majority, so take this CIS with loads of salt. However, this projection is not completely unrealistic, providing the left is able to mobilize voters in left-leaning areas. The low income district of Puente de Vallecas in the city of Madrid has more enrolled voters than the high income districts of Retiro and Salamanca, the problem is that turnout is 20% or 25% lower and nothing points to a higher movilization now.  Right-wing voters are apparently very motivated, but the success of Ayuso in rallying the most radical voters behind her might be counter-productive. In case a majority of Vox voters rally behind Isabel Díaz Ayuso, the list of Rocío Monasterio could be in danger. Ayuso looks sometimes more radical than Monasterio and is widely loved by the Vox base. Vox below threshold is not the most likely outcome, but it's a possibility. On the other hand, he PP might get a result close to absolute majority...

[Velasco]

[

Would the scenario you outline here be more likely to give PP an absolute majority or to boost the PSOE-MM-UP bloc? Not that it sounds particularly plausible either way, of course.

In order to win absolute majority, the PP would need to get more votes than PSOE, MM and UP combined. This implies the PP getting a vote percentage well above 45%. The PP is getting 41% or 42% in the most favourable polls.

Take the German federal election of 2013. The CDU/CSU got a strong result and that was seen as a personal victory of chancellor Angela Merkel. However, the left block (Socialdemocrats, Greens,  Left) won a majority of seats because both FDP and AfD failed to meet the threshold by a narrow margin. Politically Merkel and Ayuso are as far as mainstream conservatives can be (pragmatic centrist vs populist rightwinger), but arithmetically that scenario is remotely plausible

[Velasco]

It's interesting this analysis in ElDiario.es pointing the historical dominance of the right in Madrid (in the last 30 years) is sustained by the richest 30%. The graphs show the correlation between level of income and vote for the right.

 The left has more support than the right in the remaining 70%, so the logical conclusion is the turnout gap between low and high income areas is key for election results in Madrid.

 In raw numbers PSOE, MM and UP got some 32,000 votes in last elections among the poorest 3%. In contrast PP, Cs and Vox got more than 100,000 votes among the richest 3%. The correlation between level of income and turnout is pretty evident in the graphs. Turnout reached nearly 80% in the richest 3%, while dropped below 50% in rhe poorest 3%.

The analysis also points the percentage of immigrant population not eligible to vote in regional elections is higher in the poorest sections.

Finally, comparing 2015 and 2019 elections, in the latter turnout increased in high income areas and decreased in low income areas.  Higher turnout in the richest areas added 100,000 votes to the parties right of the centre in the 2019 elections,  while the parties left of the centre gained a little amount of votes in the richest areas and lost votes in the poorest areas due to demobilization. In 2015 the left won a narrow majority in the Madrid local elections, but failed to win a majority in regional assembly because IU failed to meet the 5% threshold


https://www.eldiario.es/madrid/gana-derecha-elecciones-madrid-mayoritaria-30-rico_1_7347696.html#click=https://t.co/ELH5HyLsJL

[Velasco]

Most recent news concerning the Madrid regional elections

- Acting regional premier Isabel Díaz Ayuso claims that she will use Sputnik if the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) approves the Russian vaccine. The issue is that she lacks the competences to approve its use bypassing the central government, not to mention to negotiate with the Russians. According to the ABC newspaper, the regional government looked at the possibility to buy Sputnik vaccines in February. Regional Health minister Enrique Ruiz Escudero would have met three times with "agents of the Russian vaccine".

-Violent clashes between the police and antifascist demonstrators in a Vox rally held yesterday in the working class neighbourhood of Vallecas. The incidents began when, three minutes after he began to speak, Santiago Abascal asked the police to evict a group of persons which was booing him quite loud. According to the chronicle in elDiario.es, Abascal stepped off the stage and went to confront the nearest group of opponents with his security guard and other party leaders. The police had mounted a ring of security separating the demonstrators from the rally. When Abascal and his group approached the demonstrators, the policed charged against the latter, in order to prevent losing control of the situation. After the charge, the rally went on with Rocío Monasterio claiming the demonstrators are admirers of the terrorists who committed the Madrid bombings, while Santiago Abascal attacked Pablo Iglesias claiming the Podemos leader is a class traitor because for moving with his family from Vallecas to a detached house in Galapagar (Abascal lives in a house that costs 1 million euros and Monasterio in El Viso, one of the most the most expensive neighbourhoods of Madrid). Then some stones flew over the heads of Abascal and his crew.  The police charged again and some journalists were beaten...

Similar incidents occurred during the campaign in Catalonia, when pro-independence activists tried to boycott Vox rallies held in hostile territory. It seems 'antifascist' activists never learn the golden rule of avoiding provocations, so they contribute to the rise of the far-right ensuring publicity and granting  victim status to the reactionaries.

A better way to protest, in my opinion, is the banner hanging from one neighbour's window, that you can see in a picture illustrating the article linked below

https://www.eldiario.es/politica/santiago-abascal-encuentra-vallecas-buscando_129_7386508.html

[Velasco]

I guess that ultraconservative pro-Israel asssociation endorses PP snd Vox  but anyway they are wrong pointing to UP or MM. Expressions of antisemitism in Spain usually come from the far-right

https://english.elpais.com/spanish_news/2021-02-16/spains-jewish-communities-call-for-an-investigation-into-a-neo-fascist-demonstration-in-madrid.html

The Federation of Jewish Communities in Spain (FCJE) has called on the hate crimes public prosecutor to investigate antisemitic accusations made during a demonstration in honor of the División Azul, or Blue Division, held in Madrid on Saturday. The military unit, which was made up of volunteers, was sent by former Spanish dictator Francisco Franco to support Adolf Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union during the Second World War.

In a video that has been shared online by the digital magazine La Marea, a young woman is seen at a lectern with a microphone surrounded by dozens of people carrying neo-fascist and Nazi symbols and paraphernalia. The woman in the video is heard saying that “the enemy is always going to be the same albeit wearing different masks: the Jew.” She adds: “Because there is nothing that is more true than this statement: the Jew is to blame, the Jew is to blame, and the Blue Division fought for this.” She later states that communism is “a Jewish invention to pit the workers against one another.”

Can someone explain to me how such a "liberal and multicultural" city like Madrid turns in big vote totals for Vox, especially around Chamberí and Salamanca.

It's true that Madrid leans to the right, but it's not a good thing to fall in generalizations. Big cities around the world are diverse and Madrid is not an exception. While there are areas with a strong conservative vote, there exist left-leaning areas with more liberal attitudes.

The reasons why Madrid has been voting to the right in the last 30 years or so are not easy to explain. I'd say a major factor is the concentration of wealth, a process that began during the Franco regime. Prior the Civil War industries were more developed in the periphery, but later in the 1960s Madrid became a pole of economic attraction with the development of industry and services. Economic development in addition to the advantages if being the capital (plus lower taxes) attract activities and people with higher incomes. Also, we discussed earlier in this thread the surge of new urban developments in the last decades, which residents are middle class professionals that lean to the right.  There is a strong economic vote in Spain; affluent and upper-middle class voters lean strongly to the right. Vox in particular attracts the more radical and conservative voters in this sector and, unlike other right-wing populist oarties in Europe, it usually performs stronger in affluent areas

[Velasco]

Would you say that most neighborhoods of Madrid, regardless of party affiliation, are socially liberal?

I can't evaluate the degree of social liberalism in Madrid by neighbourhood. I would say the most "social liberal" areas of Madrid are very localized and are easily recognizable, namely centric beighbourhoods like Malasaña, the Podemos home turf of Lavapiés or the LGTB friendly neighbourhood of Chueca. These places in particular lean to the left and I think they are not very different in that regard to other downtown neighbourhoods elsewhere. In what concerns the Spanish society as a whole and Madrid in particular, it has developed a great degree of secularism and generally speaking there exists a remarkable tolerance. Said this, let's not fall into generalizations or pretend that Spain is a sort of paradise for LGTB people where intolerant attitudes have been eradicated. That's simply not true and, despite the society is mildly tolerant on average, homophobia and violence against women are sad realities that exist here and everywhere. On the other hand, the surge of Vox is the proof that there exists a reactionary sector that is deeply homophobic and misogynist, for it's notorious that party is enemy of feminist and LGTB movements and wants to banish the Gay Pride festival to Casa de Campo in the outskirts of Madrid.

[Velasco]

Today we commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Second Republic's proclamation on April 14, 1931. It was an attempt of modernization that ended tragically, but those years witnessed a cultural flowering that ended abruptly in 1939. One of the main goals of the Franco regime surged with the Civil War was to erase the legacy of the Republic, particularly the advances in education

https://ihr.world/en/2020/04/13/the-mission-of-the-school-is-to-transform-the-country/

Universal education is now considered one the most important duties of the state. This is, however, a recent development. Today, 14 April, to mark the anniversary of the proclamation of the Spanish Second Republic in 1931 (...)

Spain had been one of the first European states to recognise the importance of universal education. The 1812 Constitution proclaimed that every village should have a primary school (article 366) and the Moyano Law of 1857 made school attendance obligatory until the age of nine.

These ambitious aims were, however, not translated into reality and the state relied heavily on the Church to provide education, both at primary level and at secondary, where some of its schools were among the most prestigious in the country.  In 1931 the Ministry of Education estimated that there were 32,680 schools and 27,151 more were needed [see Educación y Cultura en la Segunda República]. Based on an assumption that the average rural primary school would have one class of 50 pupils, there was a deficit of one million primary school places (...)

For the political leaders of the Second Republic universal literacy was fundamental. The Republican project did not simply represent the replacement of the monarchical form of government, but rather the opportunity to modernise Spain. Part of that modernisation was the creation of a literate and informed citizenry who would be capable of exercising the responsibilities necessary to support a system of representative government. This was recognised, for example, by Manuel Azaña, who became Prime Minister in October 1933, when he stated that “the state school should be the shield of the Republic”  

The Second Republic also established women's suffrage thanks to pioneers like Clara Campoamor


https://ihr.world/en/2020/03/08/pioneers-the-first-spanish-women-deputies-clara-campoamor-victoria-kent-margarita-nelken/

Clara Campoamor, Victoria Kent and Margarita Nelken were all elected under the 1890 electoral law which restricted the vote to men.  Women only received the vote under the constitution of the new Republic, passed by the Constituent Cortes in December 1931. This enabled women to vote for the first time in the Cortes elections held in November 1933.

Paul Preston has pointed out that “pressure for the female vote had come not from any mass movement but from a tiny elite of educated women and some progressive male politicians, most notably in the Socialist party” (“Doves of War: Four Women in Spain”, Harper Collins, 2003).  Female suffrage was above all the work of Clara Campoamor, who was a member of the commission which drafted the constitution and who led the argument for women’s legal equality in the Cortes debate in October 1931. Article 36, which would give the vote to women over the age of 23 – on the same terms as men – passed by the Cortes by 161 votes to 121, mainly due to support from the Socialist party.

[Velasco]

The Congress of Deputies passed yesterday a pioneering law on child protection, championed by British pianist James Rhodes


https://english.elpais.com/society/2021-04-16/spain-approves-pioneering-child-protection-law.html

Spain’s lower house of parliament, the Congress of Deputies, approved on Thursday a pioneering new law aimed at protecting children and adolescents against violence. The legislation was voted through with an absolute majority – a far from a common outcome in the current divisive political climate – with 268 votes in favor, 57 against and 16 abstentions.

The new legislation is known as the “Rhodes law” in recognition of campaigning by British concert pianist James Rhodes in defense of children’s rights. The British pianist, a Madrid resident who suffered sexual abuse when he was a boy, has been one of the most public faces pushing for a law to combat violence suffered by youngsters and adolescents (...)

The goal of the new law is to spark a paradigm shift in how the defense of children’s rights is understood, just as the gender violence law also helped change attitudes on violence against women. It guarantees the rights of children and adolescents against all forms of violence, from physical and sexual violence to online harassment, and includes measures to raise awareness of violence against children, and to detect, protect and compensate victims.
 

It's the first legislative measure from the Social Rights Ministry since Ione Belarra replaced Pablo Iglesias. Vox and PNV voted against the legislation for different reasons.

The child protection law is the first legislative measure from the Social Rights Ministry, which is headed by Ione Belarra, from Unidas Podemos. Speaking to Congress, Belarra, who took over from Pablo Iglesias when he resigned to run as a candidate in the Madrid regional election, explained the law “had high consensus, but low intensity.”

The minister also criticized the Spanish Catholic Church for its “complicity” in covering up sexual crimes against children, and made a direct address to the victims of child abuse. “If someone tries to make you feel to blame for what has happened to you, I want you to listen closely to my words: nothing that has happened to you is your fault. Ask for help because someone is going to help you,” she said.

Opposition
Only the far-right Vox party and the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) voted against the child protection law. In the case of the PNV, the party opposed the bill on the grounds that it overstepped the separation of powers between the central government and regional authorities.

Vox lawmaker Teresa López, meanwhile, argued that the government had created the law to “clean their consciences” over its support for women’s reproductive rights. “Protecting childhood is not promoting abortion. That is violence,” she said.  

Growing pressure on Spain's government to extend the state of alarm, which expires five days after Madrid regional elections

https://www.thelocal.es/20210416/pressure-on-spanish-government-to-extend-state-of-alarm/

Activated in October, the state of alarm allows the central and regional governments to adopt measures that curb individual freedoms, such as imposing curfews and closing regional borders to anyone moving without just cause. It is due to expire on May 9th.

Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has said his government does not intend to prolong it, arguing the regional authorities have “sufficient tools” to tackle the crisis and that a vaccine was now available.

“The circumstances are different,” he said during a debate in parliament on Wednesday. “The alternative to a state of emergency is a vaccination programme, which is intensifying.” (...)

But many regional governments – which are responsible for health care – fear that lifting it will throw them into a legal limbo that will hurt efforts to control the spread of Covid-19 and are pushing for an extension.

Inigo Urkullu, head of the northern Basque Country region, has warned it would remove the “legal guarantees” for imposing measures like restrictions on mobility.

Regions popular with domestic tourists are especially worried about losing the ability to ban travel in and out of their territory, fearing an influx of visitors from areas with higher infection rates, once the emergency ends.

In election related news, former Cs leader in Valencia Toni Cantó was disqualified by the Constitutional Court from running in the PP list alongside former Toledo mayor Agustín Conde, for they hadn't been registered in the Madrid electoral roll closed on January 1. The court members were splitted in two, so the president had to broke the tie (quality vote). The PSOE and the Attorney's office appealed the inclusion of both men in rhe list topped by Isabel Díaz Ayuso.

Political analysts say the rule is not a serious setback for Ayuso, since the desired effect has been achieved. The treason of Cantó is a serious blow ro the already weakened and nearly destroyed Cs and the PP will reward him one way or another.

[Velasco]

It basically shows the "fiscal pressure" of each Spanish region. For some dumb reason 100 = the average EU fiscal pressure and not the Spanish average but it still shows the differences in taxation across the country

I always heard the Soain's tax burden was below EU average. As of 2019 Tax to GDP ratio in Spain was 35.4% , while the average in the EU was 41.1%. I don't know why Expansión says fiscal oressure in Spain is 10% above average, but that's not accurate.

EDIT: The source for the inaccurate data on Spain's tax burden used in that graph is a 'libertarian' foubdation. Looks like Ayuso propaganda. Even though I don't dispute Madrid and Basque Country have lower taxes than other Spanish regions, the false claim that Spain's fiscal pressure is above the EU average is used by the right to demand more tax cuts. In the case of Madrid, the new cuts proposed by Ayuso favor a very reduced group of top eearners amounting some 10,000 ibdividuals.

https://www.epdata.es/datos/presion-fiscal-espana-ocde-impuestos-dato-estadisticas/485