The tricolor has colored the streets of Madrid this Sunday, on the eve of the anniversary of the king’s coronation. “Spain tomorrow will be republican”, “they will not pass” or “there are no two without three”, are some of the slogans that could be heard in this republican march, which was attended by around 30,000 people, according to the figures that have been published. offered by the organizers. With the motto “no monarchy, yes democracy,” they want the debate on the monarchical institution to be reopened and for Felipe VI to go down in the history books as “Philip, the last.”
The demonstration began at 12:00 noon from three different columns: a north one, starting from Colón; another from the east, which has left the Puerta de Alcalá; and one from the southwest, which went up from Neptune to Cibeles, where they all converged to continue to Puerta del Sol.
Halfway there, in front of the Bank of Spain building, Álex Pérez and Antonia Nogales, on behalf of the group promoting the republican march, offered statements to the media: “The reason for this march is to demand that the structures of the democratic system and that they stop usurping the right to decide who will occupy the head of the State. We refuse to join any anachronistic celebration, of a Spain in black and white, which is not real. We want to set this country on time through popular mobilization,” said Pérez, from the Ateneo de Vallecas, announcing a new march on June 15, 2025 “if nothing changes.” “We are here to claim that this system is a democratic anomaly and that this formula is contrary to the principle of equality recognized by the Constitution,” concluded Nogales, from the Ateneo de Zaragoza.
Already in Sol, the filmmaker Benito Rabal and the journalist Irene Zugasti have read in two voices the manifesto of the call “Felipe VI, ten years are enough”, which was launched on October 31, coinciding with the swearing in of the Constitution of Leonor of Borbón, after having turned 18 years old. “This month marks a decade since the beginning of the reign of Felipe VI. The Crown then starred in an unprecedented coronation ceremony that served to separate his father, Juan Carlos I, as king emeritus in a golden retirement, just when the tip of the iceberg of his carousel of corruption was beginning to be known,” Zugasti began.
The statement defends democracy as “the government of the people, by the people and for the people” and believes that democracy and monarchy cannot go hand in hand. “The monarchical power is not only the king, it is also that privileged minority that rules without standing in the elections,” Rabal continued, under applause and cheers from the attendees, who have completely occupied Puerta del Sol.
“Faced with the decline of the monarchy, democracy will make way for the republic of the 21st century,” with this phrase the reading of the statement ended, which describes the monarchy as the “patriarchal” and “corrupt” institution par excellence. Before ending the march, Nogales and Pérez said a few last words: “We are going to attend the umpteenth act of whitewashing of the Bourbons with the pomp of tribute for this anniversary,” Pérez stated. “Our motives are clear. We want a republic of diversity, which goes beyond political parties. A republic respectful of all sensitivities, environmentalist, secular, that represents all democratic and progressive sectors,” Nogales concluded, before Rabal shouted to the public: “We are not communists, nor anarchists, nor unionists. We are all anti-fascists, because what we have before us is fascism. Don’t forget it.” Immediately afterwards, the protesters chanted “they will not pass.”
The united republican movement
People from all over the peninsula have come to the capital, by their own means and also thanks to buses chartered by some organizations. One of them is Purificación, from Vitoria, who has traveled more than 300 kilometers, along with 37 other neighbors. “We are here because we want a third republic. We don’t want kings, princesses, or milk. We have to move this, because having a monarchy imposed by a king and by Franco, of course not,” he told elDiario.es.
The mobilization of the republican movement, which has marched together and practically in its entirety, has been intense these past few months. More than 4,500 signatures have been collected in their own capacity, among which names from culture and politics such as Pablo Iglesias, Rafa Mayoral, Cristina Fallarás, Olga Rodríguez, Marta Nieto, Pablo Badén or Alberto San Juan stand out. In addition, up to 134 groups and organizations have joined the October 31 manifesto, from feminist, environmental or pensioner groups, to left-wing political parties. Among them, Izquierda Unida, the PCE, Alianza Verde or Podemos, which has had its own header, in which, among other figures, Irene Montero, Ione Belarra and Clara Serra have been seen.
“There are many people in Spain who understand that we are not going to have a full democracy until we are a republic because, as long as we have a monarchy, where for the sole reason of a genetic exception that means privileges and being above the law and the For the rest of the Spaniards, it seems to us that it is impossible for there to be a full democracy as long as this continues to be the case,” said the general secretary of Podemos, Ione Belarra, in statements to the media.
One of the groups that has joined this protest has been the Yayoflautas. José María, from Madrid, has not missed a republican march in years. He believes that the new generations are demobilized and are not aware of the importance of demanding a better democracy: “The majority of us who have come today are older people. There are young people, but very few, and the future is theirs. They are the ones who should fight”, and he adds: “I don’t know if Leonor will become queen, I hope not, but I won’t see it”.
“We are here because we believe in the republic and in the equality of all people, and that equality is not compatible with a person, because of their last name, having access to an elected position, a salary for life or a privileged education,” they explain. two twenty-something women who did not want to miss the march. “Young people are very polarized, either they are very Republican, or quite the opposite. And there is a lack of mobilization, let’s hope that little by little republican sentiment spreads.”
The three columns converged in Cibeles around 12:30 noon and reached their last stop before two in the afternoon. Throughout the march, classic songs from the republican movement were heard, such as “Ay, Carmela”, or Riego’s anthem, which was performed spontaneously with his bagpipes. There has been no lack of memory for the elderly who died in the residences of Madrid and condemnation of the massacre in Gaza, which has been accompanied by Palestinian flags and chants such as “from the river to the sea, Palestine will win.”
Ten years of Juan Carlos I as emeritus
June 2 was the tenth anniversary of the abdication of Juan Carlos I, surrounded by numerous scandals. June 19, this Wednesday, will be the coronation of his son, Felipe VI. The commemoration events, however, will begin on Tuesday, according to the mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez Almeida, who assured that the City Council would “dedicate itself” to the tribute. From the details of the event, we already know that the flag will be raised or that the buses will show off a special decoration, which is still unknown.
“If the vassal mayor of Madrid proposes decorating the streets with monarchical flags to pay homage to the monarch on the anniversary of the coronation, the republican movement also wants to celebrate that Felipe VI must be the last king of our country and that the Crown he wears “It is an obsolete and absurd institution,” say the organizers in a note sent to the media.
June 19 is not the only date that stands out in the royal family, this year the kings have celebrated twenty years of marriage, while Leonor has attracted attention after having started her military training in Zaragoza and sworn in the Constitution on October 31 , officially consecrating herself as heir to the throne.
This last act is what promoted the republican march that took place today, organized by the athenaeums of Vallecas, Carabanchel and Rivas Vaciamadrid. Throughout these months they have been adding support and have organized multiple events, colloquiums and even “concerts for democracy” throughout the territory. The organizers confirmed at the end of the march that they will return to the streets next year to continue demanding “democracy and republic.”
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