“Institutional abandonment” was the term with which Santiago Abascal described the current panorama of Extremadura when he concluded the Vox campaign at the Congress Palace in Badajoz. According to information published by the media, the party leader focused his message on blaming both the People’s Party (PP) and the PSOE for the deterioration of the regional situation. In his speech, he announced that Vox would take legal action against the national leaders of these two groups, to whom he attributed the institutional tightening recorded in the Autonomous Community. As the same media detailed, Abascal warned of a possible collapse of the economic and health systems as a direct result of the policies of the parties that have ruled the region for the longest time.
The event was attended by numerous party representatives, including Ignacio Garriga, Vice President and Secretary General of Vox; MEP Hermann Tertsch; and Ignacio Hoces, national deputy for Badajoz, according to the aforementioned publication. During the event, Abascal stressed that both the PP and the PSOE had common practices and strategies in their regional and national administration, which, in his opinion, had led to a sustained deterioration in public services, especially in the health sector and access to housing. The media pointed out that the Vox boss linked the deterioration of health care and waiting lists to historical bipartisanship and linked the low effectiveness of social assistance for Spaniards to the decisions of both parties.
In his speech, Abascal directly referred to the regional president of the Popular Party, María Guardiola, whom he blamed for the results of PP and Vox in the 2023 general elections. As the media reported, Abascal considered that the continuity of Pedro Sánchez as president of the central government was due to the lack of effective agreements between the PP and Vox. He argued that the collusion between socialists and popular parties was evident on both regional and national issues, and attributed the stagnation in Extremadura and the rest of the country to this dynamic.
According to the publications, Abascal directed a significant part of his intervention to denounce cases of alleged corruption within both the PSOE and the PP. He named various figures, including José Luis Ábalos, Santos Cerdán and Koldo García, whom he linked to causes of corruption, stating that they are currently “deprived of their freedom.” The Vox boss questioned the veracity of President Pedro Sánchez’s statements regarding the lack of connections with these protagonists and also pointed to business activities attributed to a political relative of Sánchez as a reason for suspicion. Regarding the PP, he referred to the Belt and Púnica cases and argued that corrupt practices in the conservative party have “more sophisticated mechanisms” than those of the PSOE. Furthermore, according to coverage of the event, he claimed that the Popular Party headquarters on Génova Street in Madrid “was paid for with black money” and proposed selling that property.
The media added that Abascal emphasized the practical similarity between PP and PSOE, which he accused of orchestrating disagreements on key regional and national issues while maintaining similar behaviors. The Vox president reiterated that the obvious differences between both parties are not maintained by the alliances and agreements that they reach at the European level.
Abascal’s speech also included defense against accusations against his own party. According to the media, he rejected the allegations of alleged irregularities in the management of donations from the youth organization Revuelta to DANA, emphasized the transparency that, in his opinion, characterizes Vox and denounced attempts to link the party to unlawful behavior.
On economic and social matters, the Vox president blamed the government model shared by PP and PSOE for economic stagnation, the lack of opportunities for young people and the increasing difficulties in accessing stable employment and housing. According to the aforementioned media, he pointed out the collapse of the health system in Extremadura, linking this problem in part to the health insurance of foreigners in an irregular administrative situation and without a contribution history, a position that, in his opinion, threatens the sustainability of public systems both in the region and at the national level.
In his speech, Abascal also addressed issues related to the European Union, particularly the Green Deal, an agreement that he attributed to negative impacts on farmers and ranchers in the region. According to the reporting, the Vox boss denounced the economic damage caused by the pact and accused bipartisanship of supporting its clauses. He also described “massive” immigration as a challenge to women’s safety and criticized the development of school content and restrictions that he said undermine freedom of business and freedom of expression.
During the same event, Abascal again addressed María Guardiola, regional president of the PP, recalling her public statements in which she had expressed reservations about the continuity of her political activity in Extremadura after the regional elections. The Vox boss hinted that the popular president could count on Vox’s support in a possible scenario of uncertainty due to the election results. Although he did not elaborate on the terms of a hypothetical pact, Abascal explained that Guardiola knows his party’s principles and proposals “well.”
The event culminated in an explicit call to support Óscar Fernández, Vox candidate for president of the Extremadura regional government. As the media detailed, Abascal called on participants to mobilize and support his party, with the aim of obtaining a sufficient majority to drive “major change” in the region and counteract what he saw as the consequences of hyperpartisanship. Throughout his speech, he maintained his rejection of the traditional model of political change between PP and PSOE and reiterated that if Vox achieves sufficient representation, it will promote legal proceedings against those who, in his opinion, are responsible for the “deterioration” in Extremadura and Spain.
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