Rally in Spain prompts accusations of fascism with Europe’s new far-right on the rise
BARCELONA – Protesters shouted “fascists” at supporters of Spain’s far-right Vox Party during a rally this weekend in Barcelona that underlined the rise of extremism in European politics.
About 200 LGBT campaigners protested as the party’s leader insisted he would defend gay rights, despite having called for the rainbow flag to be removed from government buildings and the term “domestic violence” be replaced by “intrafamilial violence”.
Ranks of police separated demonstrators waving the rainbow flag from party faithful to prevent violence on Saturday night.
Spain’s conservative People’s Party (PP) and Vox, a potential coalition partner, have lost some ground to the Socialists but may win enough seats to form government, according to two polls published on Monday.
Both parties have formed alliances to rule regional governments including the Balearic Islands, Valencia and Extremadura since winning local elections in May.
The emergence of Vox is symptomatic of the rising power of far-right parties across Europe, with Giorgia Meloni, who leads a neofascist party, now prime minister of Italy.
With the Mediterranean Sea as a backdrop, Santiago Abascal, the Vox leader, told supporters his party protected gay rights. “The Supreme Court does not allow any unofficial flags [to fly] on public buildings and many homosexuals, who vote for us, feel represented by this flag which respects them, that of Spain, that of all us,” he said.
Interrupted by cries of “Viva!” and “President!”, Mr Abascal said he was disturbed by rioting in France.
“Europe is threatened by anti-European mobs who destroy police stations, burn libraries and stab babies,” he said.
Mireya Navarro, a Vox councillor from Terassa near Barcelona, insisted her party’s policy towards domestic violence was not against feminism. “We are against any violence within the family – towards women, men, children. Violence has no gender,” she told i.
Next to her was Francisco Javier Lopez, who sported a T-shirt reading: “F*** Agenda 2030”. Agenda 2030 is a United Nations initiative for sustainable development but has been criticised by some parties on the political right as “dreamy”.
Vox opposes globalisation and wants to reform the European Union.
“I joined Vox because they want to help people like me, not immigrants. When I became a widower in 2004, the council said they could offer me no help. They prefer migrants to Spanish people,” Javier Lopez, 52, a lorry driver, told i.
With red and gold Spanish flags and the green colours of Vox flying, the party’s decision to hold a rally in Barceloneta, a neighbourhood on the seafront popular with tourists as well as Spaniards, was a bold one, perhaps denoting its confidence.
Children waved the Spanish flag or wore a red and gold wristband while smartly dressed women mixed with burly men.
Six years ago, Barcelona was the scene of a Catalan independence referendum which was declared illegal by the courts, causing Spain’s worst political crisis in decades.
The Vox demonstration was watched by a lone man dressed in a T-shirt bearing the Catalan flag and sporting badges showing former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, who lives in self-exile in Belgium.
Miriam Moreno, 21, watched with two female friends with growing trepidation as the rally got under way.
“We are all gay and obviously women and what is happening in Spain is very worrying for us. The thought that Vox could form a government makes us think about what we could do for gay rights or for women’s rights,” Ms Moreno, a student and cleaner, told i.
Lluna Turull, 20, who was not part of the LGBT demonstration, said: “This party does not have the interests of gay people or women at heart. I hope people realise that.”
