Supporters of conservative Popular Party demand Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez step down amid corruption scandals.
Tens of thousands of people have taken part in an opposition-organised demonstration in Spain’s capital, Madrid, accusing the government of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of corruption and urging him to call early elections.
Protesters, many waving red and yellow Spanish flags, massed on Sunday in the Plaza de Espana, a large square in the centre of Madrid, and chanted, “Pedro Sanchez, resign!”
The conservative Popular Party (PP) called the rally after leaked audio recordings allegedly documented a member of the Socialist Workers’ Party, Leire Diez, waging a smear campaign against a police unit that investigated corruption allegations against Sanchez’s wife, brother, and his former transport minister and right-hand man Jose Luis Abalos.
Diez has denied the allegations, telling reporters on Wednesday that she was conducting research for a book and was not working on behalf of the party or Sanchez. She also resigned from Sanchez’s party.
PP leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo has accused the government of “mafia practices” over the affair and said Sanchez is “at the centre” of multiple corruption scandals.
Sanchez and his government have been embroiled in numerous scandals with perhaps the most significant being the “Koldo Case”, or “Masks Case”, which concerns corruption allegations in the awarding of public contracts for medical supplies, particularly masks, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The case involves Abalos and his former adviser Koldo Garcia Izaguirre, the latter of whom is accused of using his influence to secure contracts for certain companies and receiving substantial commissions in return.
Sanchez considered stepping down in April 2024 after a Madrid court opened an investigation into his wife, Begona Gomez, on suspicion of influence peddling and business corruption.
The right-wing organisation Manos Limpias (Clean Hands) initially made the allegations against Gomez, who is accused of using her position to influence the awarding of government contracts and of irregularities in her professional activities.
‘Smear campaign’
Sanchez has dismissed the probes against members of his inner circle and family as part of a “smear campaign” carried out by the right wing to undermine his government.
But Feijoo urged Sanchez to call early elections and told the rally: “This government has stained everything – politics, state institutions, the separation of powers.”
The PP estimated that more than 100,000 people attended the rally, held under the slogan “Mafia or Democracy”, while the central government’s representative in Madrid put the turnout at 45,000 to 50,000.
“The expiry date on this government passed a long time ago. It’s getting tiring,” protester Blanca Requejo, a 46-year-old store manager who wore a Spanish flag draped over her back, told the AFP news agency.
Sanchez came to power in June 2018 after ousting his PP predecessor Mariano Rajoy in a no-confidence vote over a corruption scandal involving the conservative party.
Recent polls indicated the PP holds a slim lead in support over the Socialists. Spain’s next general election is expected in 2027.