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Protest in Madrid: Citizens demand Pedro Sanchez's resignation

The demonstration, called by the citizens' movement "Revuelta" and supported by the Popular Party, gathered around 2,000 people in front of the Socialist Party headquarters.

Anti-government protest in Madrid, Spain.

Anti-government protest in Madrid, Spain.Óscar del Pozo / AFP.

Sabrina Martin
Published by
Sabrina Martin

Madrid is going through high political tension with thousands of demonstrators demanding the immediate resignation of Spanish President Pedro Sanchez and his criminal prosecution. The protest, called through social media by the citizen movement Revuelta and backed by the Popular Party, brought together nearly 2,000 people in front of the headquarters of the Socialist Party (PSOE) on Ferraz Street. There, among Spanish flags and chants such as "Pedro Sanchez, to prison!", complaints were heard against what the organizers consider a network of corruption in the presidential environment.

The mobilization follows the resignation of Santos Cerdán, secretary of organization in the PSOE and one of the men closest to Sánchez, who left the post after his alleged involvement in a network of collection of irregular commissions became known. According to a Guardia Civil report sent to the Supreme Court, the wiretaps also implicate former minister José Luis Ábalos and his former advisor Koldo García, for a scheme that distributed more than 620,000 euros in bribes.

Suspicions about Sanchez's rise in leadership

Beyond the economic scandal, the recordings point to a possible rigging of the PSOE's internal primaries in 2014, in which Pedro Sánchez emerged as the winner. This line of investigation has led the judge to lift the secrecy of the summary and summon Santos Cerdán to testify voluntarily next June 25, amid growing calls for his formal accusation.

Cerdán assures he is willing to collaborate, but his resignation has set off political alarms and rekindled popular indignation. For many, the direct link of those implicated with the presidential entourage inevitably compromises Sanchez's position.

Allegations of cover-up and institutional manipulation

The outcry was reinforced by the disclosure of audio attributed to Leire Díez, a Socialist militant. In them, she is allegedly heard coordinating an attempt to discredit a police unit investigating people close to the president, including his wife and brother. Although Díez denied any link with the party and claimed that she was acting on her own, the recording has aggravated suspicions about the use of party structures to obstruct justice.

From the stage, the leader of the Popular Party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, lashed out at Pedro Sánchez and accused him of heading a government peppered with "mafia practices." Feijóo demanded the urgent call for general elections and warned: "This government has tainted politics, state institutions and the separation of powers."

Sanchez defends himself and accuses the opposition

Pedro Sánchez categorically rejected the accusations and affirmed that everything is part of a defamation campaign orchestrated by the right and the extreme right with the aim of destabilizing his Government. The president defended the integrity of his family and his closest team, and reiterated his support to the party in the midst of the crisis.

However, the political climate in Spain is becoming increasingly tense. With the streets taken over by citizen indignation and an increasingly polarized society, Sanchez's leadership -and with it, the stability of Spanish socialism- is going through one of its most critical moments since his arrival to power.

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