Vox gathers 100,000 people in Colón to protest against the amnesty and Sánchez and promises to "respond"

MADRID, 29 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Some 100,000 people, according to Vox and the Government delegation, gathered this Sunday in Madrid's Plaza de Colón to protest against the president, Pedro Sánchez, and the amnesty for Catalan independence leaders, promising to "respond" if the measure grace is approved.

The demonstration, formally called by the Foundation for the Defense of the Spanish Nation (DENAES) under the slogan 'Against the amnesty and the Sánchez coup!', has been supported by the Vox leadership with Abascal at the head and deputies from the training, in addition to recognized faces in politics, such as Esperanza Aguirre - in a personal capacity, as she explained -, Juan Carlos Girauta or Marcos de Quinto. Also by more than 60 associations, including NEOS, promoted by former Minister of the Interior Jaime Mayor Oreja.

Not so for the PP, whose leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, held another event in Malaga. Although the absence of the 'popular' was expected because 'Génova' already declined to attend weeks ago, organizers such as Abascal and Girauta have criticized it. They have agreed in pointing out that the concentration had to transcend the acronyms at a time of "threat to the unity of the nation" like the current one.

The event, in which choruses of "Puigdemont to prison", "Otegi terrorist" and shouts against the Government were heard, lasted just under an hour and came after Sánchez defended the amnesty before the Federal Committee of the PSOE.

It has had interventions from Abascal, conveners and civil society associations that have joined. The Vox leader has warned Sánchez about "the consequences of considering the Constitution, the laws and the equality of Spaniards broken" if he approves the amnesty, suggesting that he would have to go into exile. "Let (Carles) Puigdemont prepare the guest room for him in Waterloo," he said.

As convener, the president of DENAES, Iván Vélez, told the crowd that an amnesty "would mean assuming that the coup plotters were right, that Spain is a tyrannical nation that uses institutions to violate its citizens." According to him, "it is really surprising that a Government that is obsessed with memory", in reference to Historical Memory, "wants us to forget the coup d'état that was perpetrated in 2017."

Furthermore, he has warned that, after the amnesty, there will come "some strange maneuver" that would allow a self-determination referendum in Catalonia, which "of course" would not be acceptable either. "They have already said that they will do it again and we will respond again," he warned. Along these lines, he has assured that secession is "a theft of a part of the nation", something that "cannot be tolerated." "We are all responsible, we must do everything possible to avoid this abuse and the balkanization of Spain."

Girauta, organizer with his think tank Pie en Pared, has expressed himself along the same lines, ensuring that Sánchez's project "is dictatorial." "The message that the amnesty sends is that Puigdemont did it well, that the transitory laws were fair, that the embezzlement was fair, that the judicial power has no force against the autocrat."

Likewise, he has claimed Plaza de Colón as the location for the event. "There are some who are afraid of Columbus," she said, without specifying who. Furthermore, and in line with Abascal, Vélez and the rest of the speakers, he has warned about holding more demonstrations or rallies. Citizens "will continue to come" considering it a "symbol" of the "unity of constitutionalists," in his words.

In addition, five other representatives of conveners and associations included in the call have participated. The vice president of the S'ha Finish! association, Andrea Llopart, stands out, who has described the current situation in Spain as "extremely serious." "The amnesty will not be the last, that is why we need a firm and strong position," she urged.

For his part, the general secretary of the Solidaridad union, Rodrigo Alonso, has wondered if "ETA will be the next to ask for an amnesty." "Time to time, in the hands of these people everything is possible." Finally, the president of A Police for the 21st Century, Samuel Vázquez, has praised the role played in 2017 in Catalonia by the State Security Forces and Bodies.

DENAES called the demonstration at the beginning of October, citing the need to "respond from the streets and civil society" to "the dark maneuvers" of the acting president, alluding to the negotiation of a possible amnesty for the Catalan "coup" in exchange of the support of Junts in his investiture. They criticize that Sánchez is "willing" to grant this measure of grace "to remain in power", "an act that is the complete delegitimization of the Rule of Law."

The manifesto for the call delves into criticism of the amnesty, which the organizers also consider "a new step towards the breakdown of coexistence and legality." "Instead of promoting unity and coexistence, Pedro Sánchez continues to give in to those who seek to impose their political goals through disobedience, extortion and attacks on the Constitution," they add, emphasizing that Sánchez's "priority" is "to manage to remain in the Government and continue promoting a project that has meant a setback in the freedom, well-being and coexistence of the Spanish people.

"All of this regardless of whether it entails wear and tear and distrust in institutions and generates division and the deepest polarization in Spanish society," they continue. In this context, he points out that the Spanish "have always shown that they are capable of putting aside their differences above acronyms, parties or ideologies when they see their unity, their freedom and their institutions threatened." They say that they have already proven it since 2017 and warn that "they will prove it again."