Vox Leader Attacked By Protesters at Catalonia Election Rally

THE LEADER of Spain’s hard-right Vox Party was attacked by a crowd of protesters at a Catalonia election rally in the city of Girona.

Santiago Abascal, the Basque-born leader of Spain’s hard-right Vox Party, arrived in Girona on Saturday (January 30th) to attend a rally for the upcoming Catalonia regional elections. The controversial politician was met by a crowd of fifty protesters, who pelted him with insults and stones.

The rally took place in Girona’s Devesa Park, which hosts a popular weekend market. A large police presence attempted to keep a crowd of 50 protesters away from Abascal and local Vox candidates, but some demonstrators managed to pelt the right-wing figure with stones and insults. Members and candidates of Vox have complained of multiple attacks against their party, particularly in the left-wing strongholds of Catalonia and Galicia.

Addressing Vox supporters, Abascal told the crowd that it would take more than the protesters to “prevent us from being on the streets and speaking out”. Recently, Vox had its Twitter account suspended for a post decrying the “Islamisation” of Catalonia – including the false claim that Muslims make up 93% of police complaints.

Abascal described the protesters as “sick from hatred” and claimed that “if they could they would shoot” him and other Vox candidates. Catalonia’s regional elections will be held next month after a Barcelona court overturned a local government decision to postpone voting until May due to the pandemic.

Pro-independence parties are likely to retain their lead of the Generalitiat, while Vox do not have many supporters in the region. While they are the third most powerful force in the central Spanish government, they also enjoy some power in the regional governments of Andalucia, the Valencian Community, and Madrid.

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