On Sunday, February 12th, 2019, three of Spain’s right-winged parties started a protest in Madrid, consisting of tens of thousands of people, regarding Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchéz.
The main goal of this protest was for the PSOE to call for elections as soon as possible and get rid of the current Prime Minister. The three groups that organized this protest believed that the Prime Minister had betrayed Spain by accepting demands from pro-independence groups in the northeast region of Catalonia.The people of Spain view this as a betrayal to their country because the central government had previously broken off negotiations with these groups due to their demands.
This march is important because it was scheduled right before the beginning of a trial against the Catalan secessionist leaders. These leaders attempted to create an independence bid in 2017. This trial starts on Tuesday, which will consist of around 500 witnesses and will last approximately three months.
The protest was prompted by the Spanish government allowing an observer at the cross-party talks on Catalonia. It was not shared what this observer would be doing at the talks. Although Spain’s deputy prime minister announced that talks with Catalan separatist parties were off, the protest carried on.
The slogan of the demonstration was “For a United Spain. Elections Now!” The protesters were angry about the fact that Sánchez has not called elections in the eight months he has been in power. He is seen as a squatter due to him coming to power through a no-confidence motion.
There were no political speeches made at the demonstration on Sunday, but instead, had journalists read a manifesto that had been agreed on by the three parties leading the election. This manifesto focused on the tough rhetoric that has been employed by Casado and Abascal. However, the three leaders addressed the crowds prior to the protest, speaking about a “wave of dignity.” Their main point was that “Today sees the start of the reconquest.”
After reading this, it has become evident to me that the people of Spain do not like the Prime Minister that is in power right now. I think that the people of Spain should have a say in who is in power for their country and the government should hold an election, where the people have a say in who the voices are for them.
Barcelona Past and Present 