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

[Velasco]

Vox has a strong vote in some precincts of Parla and Fuenlabrada, both municipalities of the Madrid's southern red belt. Apparently these precincts are located in new urban developments with younger populations, also in areas with single-family houses, which had voted for PP and Cs in general elections prior to November 2019. Vox came second behind the PSOE in these municipalities. 

https://cadenaser.com/emisora/2019/11/12/ser_madrid_sur/1573564107_764335.html

[Skye]

The VOX poster in Sol was vandalized alright LMAO

[Velasco]

Last night the candidates of the six main parties contesting the regional elections in Madrid held a debate. Some highlights in the video linked below

I didn't see it, but I'll try to watch at least some parts. Analysts in El Pais consider the leftwing candidates showed better coordination in general, with positive ratings for Mónica García or Pablo Iglesias. Ayuso didn't lose, which is a victory for her. The regional president and PP candidate was somewhat challenged by Iglesias and García,  whom confronted her with data and first hand knowledge of the situation in Madrid's hospitals. PSOE candidate Angel Gabilondo receives mixed ratings, with analysts say he was a bit lacklustre but highlight his irony. Gabilondo could be a good president but he's a bad candidate, said someone. The dialéctical skills of Cs candidate Edmundo Bal are well regarded, but there's consensus in saying he was misplaced. Cs is in an impossible situation, teapped in the rightwing bloc but forced to confront the far-right. Vox candidate Rocio Monasterio is generally loathed for her xenofobia

The VOX poster in Sol was vandalized alright LMAO

Or perhaps Sol was humanized

https://twitter.com/AntonioMaestre/status/1384839393618300929?s=19

[Skye]

snip

There's a grand total of 11 precincts where VOX crossed the 30% line in the city (not the Community, I don't have precinct data for that) during that election. Aside from the ones you mention, there's also:

-Two in the wealthy Valdemarín neighborhood (it's composed of three precincts). They got 31.3% in one and 30.2% in the other.

-Two in the Salamanca district. One is in the uber wealthy part of Salamanca, the Recoletos neighborhood (04-010), they got 31% there. The other is in the Guindalera neighborhood, the northeasternmost precinct in Salamanca (04-080) where they got 30.6% of the vote.

-The remaining four are in a section of the Campamento neighborhood of the Latina district (10-156,157,158,159). They correspond to a residential area near La Dehesa, what seems to be a sports complex for the military (?), I'll assume the people who live here are mostly members of the military or their families, I dunno. Vox got 34-35% of the vote in three of the precincts but lost them to the PP, and won one of them with 38.3% of the vote, in the only section of the neighborhood that is composed of single family houses. The street names for that precinct are "Military Colony of Cuatro Vientos", so surprise surprise.

[Velasco]

UP candidate Pablo Iglesias, Interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska and the head of the Guardia Civil have been sent death threats with bullets

https://english.elpais.com/spanish_news/2021-04-23/spanish-minister-and-leftist-leader-sent-letters-with-death-threats-and-bullets.html

Two political leaders and the head of a law-enforcement agency in Spain have received letters containing death threats and bullets, according to reports to which EL PAÍS has had access and to information provided by the Interior Ministry.

The targets are María Gámez, head of the Civil Guard; Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska of the Socialist Party (PSOE) and Pablo Iglesias, head of the leftist party Unidas Podemos and a candidate in the upcoming Madrid regional election, a race that he joined after stepping down as a deputy prime minister from the PSOE-Unidas Podemos coalition government.

“You have 10 days to resign. The days of laughing at us are over. National Police. Civil Guard. Time is not on your side for the taponazos [very loud gunfire or explosion],” reads an anonymous letter postmarked April 19 and addressed to Grande-Marlaska. Inside the envelope were two 7.62x51mm bullets, according to the police report filed by the minister. An investigation is underway to identify the sender.

Civil Guard chief Gámez received a similar, handwritten message a day earlier, although it was also postmarked April 19. In this case, there was no mention of police forces although it used the term taponazo once more. There was one 7.62mm bullet inside the envelope.  

Pablo Iglesias says the envelope sent to him contained 4 bullets similar to those of the CETME, the rifle traditionally ised by the Spanish Army. He posted a picture showing the letter and the bullets

https://twitter.com/PabloIglesias/status/1385336649534562304?s=19

Vox failed to condemn these death threats. What is more, Rocío Monasterio rejected to condemn this morning at a debate held at the Cadena SER radio station, claiming that all is a sham. Pablo Iglesias left the debate immediately

https://www.eldiario.es/politica/pablo-iglesias-abandona-debate-electoral-presencia-monasterio-puesto-duda-veracidad-amenaza-muerte_1_7851282.html


 Leftwing parties are taking legal action against the billboard of the far-right party targeting migrant minors, alleging hate crimes

https://english.elpais.com/politics/2021-04-21/spanish-prosecutors-probe-far-right-campaign-billboard-over-hate-crime-allegations.html

Equality Minister Irene Montero and Social Affairs Minister Ione Belarra, both from the leftist Unidas Podemos – which is the PSOE’s junior partner in government – have announced they are filing a complaint with the public prosecution service over potential hate crimes, as is Podemos secretary general Pablo Iglesias, who is a candidate in the upcoming election. The PSOE has also reported the case to a judge. Both parties have asked election oversight authorities to have the sign taken down. The leftist Más País and the Catalan Republican Party (ERC) also expressed criticism of Vox’s campaign message in parliament on Wednesday.

Vox has burnt the campaign.  Now the question is "Fascism or Freedom". Will these events mobilize the left?

[MaxQue]

Section 151 needs to be triggered against any community that has Vox in a coalition.

[Velasco]

Chaos in the debate held this morning, triggered by the provications of the far-right candidate Rocío Monasterio.

https://english.elpais.com/politics/2021-04-23/chaos-reigns-at-madrid-electoral-debate-as-pablo-iglesias-walks-out-and-program-cut-short-after-clashes-with-far-right-vox-candidate.html

A pre-election debate held at the Cadena SER radio network descended into chaos on Friday morning, with the Unidas Podemos candidate for the upcoming Madrid regional polls, Pablo Iglesias, walking out of the studio almost as soon as the program had begun. The left-wing politician, who recently left his role as deputy prime minister in the national government to contest the May 4 elections, opted to leave given the refusal of far-right Vox candidate Rocío Monasterio to retract doubts she had expressed over whether death threats he had received were genuine.

“I condemn all kinds of violence, but I would have liked for them to have condemned what we suffered in Vallecas,” Monasterio had stated earlier on Friday during an interview with state radio broadcaster RNE, in reference to clashes between Vox supporters, police and protestors at a recent rally held by the far-right group in that Madrid neighborhood. “And well, I believe little of what Pablo Iglesias says, and I think that all Spaniards, every time that we hear Pablo Iglesias say something, we call it into question because he has deceived us vilely over this last year.”

When it came his turn to speak at the Cadena SER debate, Iglesias called on Monasterio to rectify her words about an incident that has just came to light, whereby Iglesias, Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska and the head of the Civil Guard were sent threatening letters accompanied by bullets. Monasterio refused to back down, but she did repeat her condemnation of all violence, saying to Iglesias: “If you are so brave, get up and leave.” As the presenter and mediator of the debate, Àngels Barceló, and the other politicians present protested and argued, Iglesias did just that and headed for the exit.

Rocio Monasterio tweeted later that she fulfulled her electoral promise to kick out Iglesias, in the bullying and boastful style of a true fascist.

At least the PP condemned the death threats, although the Madrid's PP posted a tweet mocking Iglesias after the incidents this morning. Later the tweet was deleted.  Ayuso was not oresent at the debate, for she decided it was not in her onterest to participate. The regional president tweted a short message saying she condemns "any violence", without mentioning Iglesias, Montero, Grande-Marlaska or Gámez.

TV network La Sexta cancelled its debate due to the refusal of UP and MM to participate with Monasterio present.

[BigSerg]

Chaos in the debate held this morning, triggered by the provications of the far-right candidate Rocío Monasterio.

https://english.elpais.com/politics/2021-04-23/chaos-reigns-at-madrid-electoral-debate-as-pablo-iglesias-walks-out-and-program-cut-short-after-clashes-with-far-right-vox-candidate.html

A pre-election debate held at the Cadena SER radio network descended into chaos on Friday morning, with the Unidas Podemos candidate for the upcoming Madrid regional polls, Pablo Iglesias, walking out of the studio almost as soon as the program had begun. The left-wing politician, who recently left his role as deputy prime minister in the national government to contest the May 4 elections, opted to leave given the refusal of far-right Vox candidate Rocío Monasterio to retract doubts she had expressed over whether death threats he had received were genuine.

“I condemn all kinds of violence, but I would have liked for them to have condemned what we suffered in Vallecas,” Monasterio had stated earlier on Friday during an interview with state radio broadcaster RNE, in reference to clashes between Vox supporters, police and protestors at a recent rally held by the far-right group in that Madrid neighborhood. “And well, I believe little of what Pablo Iglesias says, and I think that all Spaniards, every time that we hear Pablo Iglesias say something, we call it into question because he has deceived us vilely over this last year.”

When it came his turn to speak at the Cadena SER debate, Iglesias called on Monasterio to rectify her words about an incident that has just came to light, whereby Iglesias, Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska and the head of the Civil Guard were sent threatening letters accompanied by bullets. Monasterio refused to back down, but she did repeat her condemnation of all violence, saying to Iglesias: “If you are so brave, get up and leave.” As the presenter and mediator of the debate, Àngels Barceló, and the other politicians present protested and argued, Iglesias did just that and headed for the exit.

Rocio Monasterio tweeted later that she fulfulled her electoral promise to kick out Iglesias, in the bullying and boastful style of a true fascist.

At least the PP condemned the death threats, although the Madrid's PP posted a tweet mocking Iglesias after the incidents this morning. Later the tweet was deleted.  Ayuso was not oresent at the debate, for she decided it was not in her onterest to participate. The regional president tweted a short message saying she condemns "any violence", without mentioning Iglesias, Montero, Grande-Marlaska or Gámez.

TV network La Sexta cancelled its debate due to the refusal of UP and MM to participate with Monasterio present.

https://twitter.com/vox_es/status/1385602709689143296?s=20

"The Automated Postal Processing Centers scan all packages and letters that are sent in Spain to detect, among other things, possible explosive loads inside"

https://www.eleconomista.es/economia/noticias/2583193/11/10/Correos-escanea-todas-las-cartas-y-paquetes-enviados-en-espana.html

"Post officials assure us that it has also not been received by the Ministry of the Interior, since it has no entry stamp. Interior has refused to provide images of the other letters to journalists".

[Former President tack50]

I am extremely disappointed at Vox for finally going full fascist and not even bother to hide it. Like the meme says "Our expectations were low, but holy F***". Extremely disappointed at PP for not being more forceful against it though they corrected quickly at least.

I don't even know what to say. This has to be the most disappointed I've been at Spanish politics that I can think of. Somehow this regional Madrid election has been extremely polarizing, even more so than infamously polarizing campaigns like the 2008 General Election or even the 2017 Catalan election, right after article 155!

Section 151 needs to be triggered against any community that has Vox in a coalition.

I think you mean Section 155 (the one that allows the central government to temporarily take over). Section 151 is a relatively boring and almost irrelevant nowadays section about how the "historical" autonomous communities can be created.

I will also note section 155 is a "last resort" option against a region that is openly rebelling against an important bill passed by the central government and it has only been discussed twice and fully applied just once.

It is definitely not an appropiate tool for this.

[BigSerg]

I am extremely disappointed at Vox for finally going full fascist and not even bother to hide it. Like the meme says "Our expectations were low, but holy F***". Extremely disappointed at PP for not being more forceful against it though they corrected quickly at least.

I don't even know what to say. This has to be the most disappointed I've been at Spanish politics that I can think of. Somehow this regional Madrid election has been extremely polarizing, even more so than infamously polarizing campaigns like the 2008 General Election or even the 2017 Catalan election, right after article 155!

Section 151 needs to be triggered against any community that has Vox in a coalition.

I think you mean Section 155 (the one that allows the central government to temporarily take over). Section 151 is a relatively boring and almost irrelevant nowadays section about how the "historical" autonomous communities can be created.

I will also note section 155 is a "last resort" option against a region that is openly rebelling against an important bill passed by the central government and it has only been discussed twice and fully applied just once.

It is definitely not an appropiate tool for this.

Show me the evidence. You and Velasco are spreading lies

[Former President tack50]

I am extremely disappointed at Vox for finally going full fascist and not even bother to hide it. Like the meme says "Our expectations were low, but holy F***". Extremely disappointed at PP for not being more forceful against it though they corrected quickly at least.

I don't even know what to say. This has to be the most disappointed I've been at Spanish politics that I can think of. Somehow this regional Madrid election has been extremely polarizing, even more so than infamously polarizing campaigns like the 2008 General Election or even the 2017 Catalan election, right after article 155!

Section 151 needs to be triggered against any community that has Vox in a coalition.

I think you mean Section 155 (the one that allows the central government to temporarily take over). Section 151 is a relatively boring and almost irrelevant nowadays section about how the "historical" autonomous communities can be created.

I will also note section 155 is a "last resort" option against a region that is openly rebelling against an important bill passed by the central government and it has only been discussed twice and fully applied just once.

It is definitely not an appropiate tool for this.

Show me the evidence. You and Velasco are spreading lies

Evidence of what? The debate happening? Iglesias storming out after Monasterio trying to cast doubt on the death threats and basically making it seem like a false flag thing? There is more than enough evidence of that. (If you didn't notice Velaso posted a link, but here goes the debate if you prefer an embedded video)

[Velasco]

[
Mod stfu, this is bullsh**t. Clearly, this is a setup. Spanish Jussie Smollett

"The Automated Postal Processing Centers scan all packages and letters that are sent in Spain to detect, among other things, possible explosive loads inside"

https://www.eleconomista.es/economia/noticias/2583193/11/10/Correos-escanea-todas-las-cartas-y-paquetes-enviados-en-espana.html

"Post officials assure us that it has also not been received by the Ministry of the Interior, since it has no entry stamp. Interior has refused to provide images of the other letters to journalists".

The police is taking this affair seriously and is investigating the death threats sent to Iglesias and his family, the minister of Interior and the head of the Guardia Civil.

This violence is not born out of the blue. Rather, it's triggered by the aggressiveness and the hateful speech of the rightwing opposition. PP and Vox have been claiming the government is illegitimate since the beginning of this legislative term. When opposition leaders say a democratic government is illegitimate, their most lunatic supporters may feel entitled to use violence or whatever means neccessary. When the rightwing leaders preach hate towards the leftwing leaders, they are fertilizing the ground for another civil war.

Be careful with posting fake news or spamming us with fascist garbage

[It's Perro Sanxe wot won it]

If I wanted to be constantly bombarded with tweets I would be on Twitter. Maybe you should spend less time there, or at least stop spamming us with it. And perhaps if you made more of an effort to elaborate your views, people would be more receptive to them.

[njwes]

Guys it's 2021, literally anyone on the spectrum of celebrity-public official with any notoriety gets death threats. Admittedly tho, mailing a physical death threat with the bullets is more of a 70s throwback, but still.

[Hash]

Note: As has been made clear in the past, regularly posting tweets - except if it is a poll or a breaking news alert - with providing any context or other contributions, or without providing any translation if the tweet was not originally in English, is considered trolling or spamming. 7sergi9 has repeatedly done this in this thread before, often with the intent of trolling or attacking other posters, and has been infracted for this before.

[Velasco]

Guys it's 2021, literally anyone on the spectrum of celebrity-public official with any notoriety gets death threats. Admittedly tho, mailing a physical death threat with the bullets is more of a 70s throwback, but still.

As far as we know death threats have been mailed to Pablo Iglesias and his immediate family (including his parents and Equality minister Irene Montero). Fernando Grande-Marlaska (Minister of the Interior) and María Gámez (head of the Guardia Civil). In the eventuality it surfaces other political leaders or celebrities are threatened in a similar way, it will be the time to condemn unambiguously while showing solidarity and support.  Relativizing the seriousness of these threats or trying to cast doubts about their veracity  are simply unacceptable. Probably you ignore that Pablo Iglesias and Irene Montero have been harassed for months by Vox activists in front of their home.  Now the Vox party refuses to condemn. At this moment the antiterrorist unit is investigating

[Velasco]

I Extremely disappointed at PP for not being more forceful against it though they corrected quickly at least.

Pablo Casado and Isabel Diaz Ayuso have reacted differently to the death threats.  While Casado condemned them strongly and said not doing so is very serious, Ayuso made a generic condemnation of "any violence" not very different from the statements of Monasterio. Unlike the Vox candidate, the Madrid premier did not cast doubts about the autenticity of the death threats. However, she accused Iglesias of hypocrisy and victimizing while suggesting he triggers the violence against him. The personal and ideological hatred to the figure of Pablo Iglesias is the combustible that fuels the Vox campaign. On the other hand, there are many among the conservatives and the diminishing "centrist liberals" whom establish a false parallel between "extremisms". That's a false narrative which relativizes the violent and hateful speech of the fascists, claiming that they have a counterpart in the "communists". That is absolutely false and regardless ideological differences every democrat in this country should support those who are being targeted by the fascists. If you look to recent history, the Soanish communists played an important role in the opposition to Franco and the transition to democracy,  while the hardcore Francoists and the party that now is the PP opposed in varying degrees to democratic reforms. The most positive aspect of the transition to democracy was the spirit of concord and consensus, which is definitely broken in these days. Even though Podemos challenged or criticized some aspects of the Transition, it has never preached ideological hatred nor attacked the basic fundaments of democracy.  But one of the main problems we face today is the banalization and normalization of the fascism represented by Vox, which is falsely equated to Podemos. Some elements in the Spanish right are putting victims and bullies in the same place, acting in a way not so different from certain Basque radicals during the led years of ETA.

Of course Ayuso still needs Vox to govern. Quite possibly a coalition between PP and Vox is out of question after the recent events, but the votes of the far-right party will support Ayuso and influence her policies in case of a rightwing block majority.

We are in a very different campaign now, so I guess previous polls are aged.  With regards the last CIS poll, the estimation was "performative" as usual. However, the raw data suggested to some poll experts there was still an advantage for the right,  but also an incipient trend towards the mobilization of the left. The data also suggested the initial PSOE strategy targeting centrist voters was mistaken, so they turned to another that points to the mobilization of the left and the coordination of strategies. The latter was pretty evident in the debate held in the regional television. Leftwing candidates were effective during the first part of the TeleMadrid debate,  making Ayuso feel nervous and uncomfortable. The regional premier changed the strategy during the second part,  with a more defensive approach that benefited her. Given that she has an advantage in polls and is not good performing in debates, Ayuso decided not to participate in the ones that were scheduled afterwards. Now they have been cancelled, for the leftwing parties reject to debate with the Vox candidate after yesterday's events.

[𝕭𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖆 𝕸𝖎𝖓𝖔𝖑𝖆]

Social services should be reserved for Spaniards, according to candidate Rocío Monasterio. This comes within the context of a pro-working class rhetorical shift in their campaign, along with other statements such as “the left has abandoned the workers” or “where’s the social safety net promised by Iglesias?” (at the same time, the party espouses an economic platform that amounts to radical Thatcherism with Iberian characteristics).

Yeah, there is a big clash between Vox's platform (I laughed at "Thatcherism with Iberian characteristics" lmao; very true) and Vox's wish to appeal to the working class.

Welcome to "European right-wing #populist parties". Many such cases.


Speaking of what has happened in the intervening days with regards to Vox (extremely disappointing and concerning), tomorrow is April 25th, which seems like a perfect day to demonstrate against fascism in a Latin country. Just an observation.

[Velasco]

The level of polarization in today's Spain is only comparable to the USA under Trump and Brazil under Bolsonaro. No other country in Western Europe is suffering the same levels of political tension and aggressiveness. It is often said hyperbolic attacks are dramatizations aimed at attracting the public's attention, while the civil society is much more calm and tolerant. However, sooner or later, the extreme political polarization leads to affective polarization. When a society reaches the stage of affective polarization, it becomes harder to solve the problems and heal the wounds. This process can be seen also in Catalonia, with the huge rift existing between people in favor and against independence. That conflict has also contributed to fuel the most reactionary forms of Spanish nationalism, which is reviving the ideological hatred of the 1930s. When Vox candidate Rocio Monasterio (allegedly born in Cuba) tells Pablo Iglesias *go out" and "we are better without you in this country", she's appealing to the old Francoist argument that says all political antagonists (leftists, republicans, peripheral nationalists) are the anti-Spain

[Mike88]

I know everybody is talking about the Madrid elections, but what's the likelihood of a second election in Catalonia this year, right now? The last election was more than 2 months ago and there's no government yet, and if in a month there's no deal, an election is called again.

[Red Velvet]

The level of polarization in today's Spain is only comparable to the USA under Trump and Brazil under Bolsonaro. No other country in Western Europe is suffering the same levels of political tension and aggressiveness. It is often said hyperbolic attacks are dramatizations aimed at attracting the public's attention, while the civil society is much more calm and tolerant. However, sooner or later, the extreme political polarization leads to affective polarization. When a society reaches the stage of affective polarization, it becomes harder to solve the problems and heal the wounds. This process can be seen also in Catalonia, with the huge rift existing between people in favor and against independence. That conflict has also contributed to fuel the most reactionary forms of Spanish nationalism, which is reviving the ideological hatred of the 1930s. When Vox candidate Rocio Monasterio (allegedly born in Cuba) tells Pablo Iglesias *go out" and "we are better without you in this country", she's appealing to the old Francoist argument that says all political antagonists (leftists, republicans, peripheral nationalists) are the anti-Spain

Spain is definitely the country that reminds me most of Brazil in terms of politics. By far. The origin of the fascism is very very similar, rooted in unresolved authoritarian chains of the past. Spain with the Franco dictatorship and Brazil with the military dictatorship.

It’s a very different brand of the far-right you find in US, in the rest of Europe. The religion influence is bigger and social conservative positions are more enhanced because of that. I think stuff like homophobia is a main driven for the movement in both places for example, something that you didn’t see people like Trump movement or Le Pen movement care about at all.

Luckily it’s a brand that appears to stay limited to these two countries, as it’s way more disgusting and authoritarian than the other far-right ones IMO. Because of historical backgrounds, culture and inherited structures, I keep fearing the day it could reach similar levels of hate in Portugal or in other South American countries because those are the places that I think are more susceptible to that type of far-right brand. It gained more space in these places but luckily not nearly in the same level as it happened in Spain and especially Brazil.

[Velasco]

I know everybody is talking about the Madrid elections, but what's the likelihood of a second election in Catalonia this year, right now? The last election was more than 2 months ago and there's no government yet, and if in a month there's no deal, an election is called again.

It's impossible to predict with certainty political developments in Catalonia. The last news that I found concerning the ongoing negotiations between ERC and Junts is their relationship continues ruled by mutual distrust and they are still trying. El País reports the epicenter of the negotiations is at Lledoners prison, located 75 Km from the historic Palau de la Generalitat, the headquarters of the Catalan government. ERC leader Oriol Juqueras and JxCAT general secretary Jordi Sánchez are imprisoned there. Apparently Jordi Sánchez is taking a leading role in negotiations, while Oriol Junqueras steps aside in favor of Pere Aragonès and other figures. Carles Puigdemont has left the control of negotiations to Jordi Sánchez, who is revealing a tough counterpart for ERC. The restrictions of the prison regime affect negotiations when Jordi Sánchez is involved, for it's necessary to talk through a glass within a restricted time slot from 16:00 to 20:00. Former regional ministers Jordi Turull and Joaquim Forn, also imprisoned at Lledoners, are part of the JxCAT negotiation team and occasionally disagree with Jordi Sanchez for his excessive toughness. The latter says he prefers to stay four years in opposition to reach a bad agreement. There ¡s some sensation of fatigue after a long period of fruitless talks.

If I had to bet, I'd say they'll reach a last minute agreement. But everything is possible, from JxCAT allowing a minority government of ERC and CUP (both parties have an agreement) to a repetition of elections. I would contend pro-independence parties won't allow the latter happens, for it's contrary to their interests giving a second chance to Salvador Illa and the PSC

[Velasco]

It’s a very different brand of the far-right you find in US, in the rest of Europe. The religion influence is bigger and social conservative positions are more enhanced because of that. I think stuff like homophobia is a main driven for the movement in both places for example, something that you didn’t see people like Trump movement or Le Pen movement care about at all.

I'm not sure that your assessment is correct, for I'm not able to measure the influence of religious social conservatism in Vox compared to the movements led by Trump and Bolsonaro. What is certain is that social conservatives and christian fundamentalists are part of the coalitions supporting all the aforementioned movements (I'm not including Le Pen and Salvini here), although their political weight and influence might vary depending on a number of factors or circumstances.

[Velasco]

An internal investigation undertaken by Correos, the Spanish postal service, finds out a hunan error allowed the letters containing bullets reached their recipients. Apparently an employee of a security enterprise sub-contracted by the postal service failed to see the bullets in the scanner, despite the device detected them without the shadow of a doubt (see security cam image in the link below)

https://cadenaser.com/ser/2021/04/25/tribunales/1619301676_464070.html

[Velasco]

I'm freely translating parts of the Enric Juliana's chrinicle in La Vanguardia.

From the bar terraces to the trenches: U-turn in the campaign for Madrid.

Since the beginning it was clear there was more at stake than a regional government. Madrid is important by itself, for it's the largest metropolitan area and Spain's richest region, favored by globalization and the capital status. Besides, the battle in Madrid will determine the orientation of the remainder of the legislative term, born under an unprecedented admonition from the rightwing opposition: "illegitimate government"

The PP was displaying a campaign designed with strategic ability, defending a greater freedom of movements in a country weary of lockdowns, an apology of bars, restaurants and terraces, a spring song celebrating the "Madrid Way of Life" and a staunch defence of a tax model that favors the highly mobilized upper-middle class, as well as a strong rhetorical sntagonism with the left aimed at catching voters who fled to Vox. In short: leadership and desire to win after years of bad election tesults, as well as lack of inhibition to attack the left, which is mentally conditioned by the exhausting management of the health crisis.


The left is limited by its defence of social discipline, based on objective data (pandemic figures in Madrid are worse than Spain's average), as well as divided in three different electoral lists while lacking a clear leadership.

The PSOE campaign made some erratic initial moves, in search of a vanished political centre that is being absorbed by the PP. Meanwhile Pablo Iglesias was forced to an emergency landing, for UP was facing a disaster being dangerously close to irrelevance and below the 5% threshold . The limitations of the strong-willed Mónica García are evident, for she leads a small regional force. The left was in low spirits until the envelopes with bullets appeared on stage and Vox decided to behave as a Caracas style far-right party.

Verbal threats are frequent in social networks and the authors can be easily identified, but anonym envelopes with death threats and bullets are a different matter, especially if the recipients receive them. CETME bullets cannot be bought at hardware and arm stores. The CETME is a rifle made in Spain and used by the army with a range of 1 kilometer. Antiterrorist units are investigating, while the security deployment protecting Pablo Iglesias has been reinforced.

The campaign was broken definitely after the events at the Cadena SER debate, when Rocío Monasterio provoked the departure of Pablo Iglesias, followed by Ángel Gabilondo and Mónica Garcia one hour afterwards.

In a turn of narrative that only the PSOE's machine is able to perform, socialists coined immediately the slogan "Fascism or Democracy", in order to lead the front against the far-right.  Ángel Gabilondo attended yesterday a rally in Vallecas alongside the threatened Fernando Grande-Marlaska (Interior minister) and Maria Gámez (head of the Guardia Civil). They called for a massive mobilization against whom they called openly fascists and their enablers. (Today Pedro Sánchez made strong statements pointing to the same direction)


UP and Más Madrid seconded the socialists. Yolanda Díaz made a call to the workers unions to contribute to the mobilization against fascism in a rally alongside Pablo Iglesias. PSOE, UP and MM are operating as a Broad Front right now. However the leftwing parties are unlikely to hold unity rallies, for undecided voters are not an united front.

There's a logical concern in the PP, fearing the change of narrative favors the mobilization of the left and fuels the Vox support. Isabel Díaz Ayuso has been endorsed by the former socialist premier Joaquín Leguina (declared enemy of Pedro Sánchez) and the philosopher Fernando Savater (close to UPYD and Cs). The Ayuso campaign is targeting a mature PSOE voter disgruntled with Sánchez and the "extremism"

On a separate note, I saw a funny Obama copycat poster saying "Yes We Bal". Not really a bad candidate, but this election is not for people who is "neither fascist nor antifascist"