9.45 in the morning on Saturday. At the main door of the Vistalegre Arena Palace, the old Madrid bullring converted today into a large venue for events of all kinds, there are barely several dozen people gathered, waiting for those responsible for security to let them pass to attend the events. acts of the second day of ‘Viva 24’, the “patriotic party” organized by Vox. Little by little, however, more people arrived, mostly elderly, who were unaware that Santiago Abascal, to warm up the atmosphere, had planned a visit to greet his members and supporters and visit the stands installed in the venue. . His arrival caused a stir among his followers, who fought to take a selfie with him, photos that the leader himself later uploaded to the network.
But the big moment will be this Sunday when the leader of the extreme right intervenes mid-morning and then is supported by the great star of the event, the president of Argentina, the ultra Javier Milei, who already did yesterday his first public appearance in Madrid to present his book at the headquarters of the newspaper La Razón. “His friend Santiago” was not missing from that event, whom he greeted effusively. Her agenda, however, does not include any interviews with representatives of the Government of Spain or with leaders of other parties, except Vox, and a group of businessmen that Milei has selected to her liking. Milei will undoubtedly be the highlight of the closing of ‘Viva 24’ this Sunday, along with the speech that the leader of Vox will give. The members of the candidacy for the European Parliament will also take part, taking the opportunity to present the party’s program for those elections that will be held on June 9.
This ‘Viva24’ will also not lack the bouquet of special guests”, common at Vox events: the main European far-right leaders, such as the French Marine Le Pen, the Italian Giorgia Meloni, the Polish Mateusz Morawiecki, the Hungarian Viktor Orbán or the Chilean José Antonio Kast. Some will intervene electronically. Also invited are the Israeli Minister for the Fight against Anti-Semitism, Amijail Chikli, and the leader of the Portuguese Chega party, André Ventura.
A party postponed due to Vox’s failure in the general elections
Last year, Abascal’s party was forced to postpone the third edition of its ‘patriotic festival’ with the excuse that Spain was immersed in “political uncertainty” due to “the impossibility of knowing the events of the coming weeks,” that is, That is, whether or not there were new general elections in the event that the investitures of Alberto Núñez Feijóo and Pedro Sánchez failed. That of the leader of the PP did not go ahead, but that of the leader of the PSOE who managed to continue at the head of the Government did.
The reasons for not celebrating it, however, were other: Vox had suffered a major setback in the July 23 elections, losing 19 deputies – it went from 57 to 33 seats. The economic crisis was added to its internal crisis and the party leadership decided to wait for better times. For this, Abascal advanced the National Assembly and managed to be enthroned again without rivals or internal voting before the celebration of the Galician elections, which represented a new failure for the party, which was once again left there without representation.
Now Vox wants to regain strength with the new call this year for the ‘patriotic festival’ of Vistalegre, an emblematic place for Abascal since the far-right formation held its first congress there in 2018 and managed to fill the venue with more than enough, exceeding the capacity. of more than 10,000 people. The appointment, evidently, is designed as the starting signal for the campaign for the elections to the European Parliament on June 9, after having achieved a discreet result in Catalonia where they have barely increased in support and maintain the 11 deputies they had, while they have been widely surpassed by a PP that started with three deputies and has managed to increase to 15 in those recent elections, unseating them as the first anti-independence force.
According to data from the party, there are 160 accredited journalists from more than 90 media outlets and 16 countries – among which elDiario.es is not since Vox has once again vetoed our request for assistance -, and in which they hope to gather around 30,000 people throughout the entire weekend. In order not to puncture, the Vox management has made it easier for provincial militancy to travel to Madrid, chartering numerous free buses.
The party, which did not have everything with it, decided to extend the party one more day, and yesterday, Friday, it called on young members and sympathizers “under 30 years of age” to attend the event, but it did not achieve a large capacity. Not this Saturday either, although the group has taken great care to ensure that the main auditorium, where the closing ceremony and the most anticipated speeches will take place this Sunday, is packed with people. From there the guests, members and sympathizers followed the scheduled discussions and round tables this Saturday. One of them was about “Media and political power” and was moderated by Rebeca Crespo, from Periodista Digital. Antonio O’Mullony, director of La Gaceta de la Iberosfera – Vox’s flagship media – participated in it; Hughes, one of its columnists; and Alonso de Mendoza, journalist and communications advisor at the ECR Group. The three have warned of “the critical and very complicated situation” that the media is experiencing, and of the “fake news” and “propagation of hoaxes”, which they attribute to the Sánchez Government and its related media. A situation in which they not only blame the left, but also “the traditional right”, “the one our grandparents read”, which they openly accuse of “whitewashing phenomena such as transsexuality or illegal immigration”, something that It seems “very serious” to them. For example, he has cited the fact that “it is normalized” that “Manolo is suddenly a woman, which is something that no one understands.” They have also expressed the opinion that the Sánchez Government, in its desire to control the press, “tries to silence even Trancas y Barrancas” – the dolls of El Hormiguero – because it seems to them that they are puppets “with too much critical capacity.” The speakers have also regretted the “general mistreatment” that journalists give to Vox. But they have warned that “the dying snake in the end is the most dangerous,” “that is why they are so eager to censor, insult and put an end to us.” “But we are winning and they know it,” he said.
Against the “criminal left”
Another of the colloquiums was about “Voices of freedom against the criminal left”, presented by Eduardo Cader, director of Foro Madrid and head of the International Area of the Vox foundation, Disenso, who gave way, among other Latin American guests, to Francisco Sánchez, Secretary of Worship of the Argentine Republic and Santiago Santurio, also an Argentine deputy. Cader began his speech by stating that “Spain, like Europe, has entered into a change of era, what the criminal left once called the Bolivarian breeze” and that now it is “hurricane winds that go in the opposite direction, winds of hope.” and winds of freedom”, like those they believe Milei brings to Argentina.
He has also predicted that in Venezuela, “that left” led by Nicolás Maduro “that has worked as a bloc and has enjoyed broad impunity in the last thirty-odd years knows very well that its time is over.” For their part, the two Argentine representatives have offered great praise to the president of their country. According to what they both believe, “the criminal left does not accept the change of course” that they see in Europe and America, “and wants to kick the board, cheat, commit more crimes and put an end to the voices of freedom.” “But they will not be able to, they will not pass,” they said, because “the patriotic and common sense forces grouped in Foro Madrid, thanks to Vox and Santiago Abascal, have decided to fight and have decided to win the war,” they declared, while launching harsh criticism against the approval of the “binding divorce” by “the Alfonsinista government”, the “legalization of abortion” by former president Alberto Fernández, or the approval of “homosexual marriage”, which Cristina Kirchner in turn promoted.
Later they recalled that “laws were also approved so that gender ideology was taught in schools to pervert our children and to harm our society.”
In her speech, the Colombian senator also praised the ultra-Argentine president, about whom she said that he “stretched their way to defend freedom and now we have that challenge.” “The reality of the history of the left is only failure, exile, poverty, fear and death,” she added.
Meanwhile, on the street, Magdalena, a retiree who declared herself “very Catholic,” wore a “pro-life” T-shirt, on the back of which she remembered some of the songs from the beginnings of singer-songwriter Víctor Manuel, from 1966, “when he was still “I was not a communist.”
Wheels of luck and sale of pre-constitutional flags
This Saturday, numerous clothing in praise of national symbols was seen at the Vistalegre site. Older women and men wrapped in the Spanish flag as a cape, caps and many bracelets and Vox merchandising, which a group of volunteers sold at the entrance to the Palace in a party tent. Among them a couple of octogenarians, Antonio and Domingo, who came to Viva24 from Móstoles with the intention of “not missing anything”, much less Abascal and Milei. “Tomorrow is going to be a great day,” they predicted.
In one of the stalls the visitor could also try their luck at a roulette wheel with the image of the main leaders of the parties on the political spectrum: if you landed on one from Vox, the prize was a patriotic bracelet. If not, then you would leave empty-handed.
Flag lovers can also choose from a wide range, including the Francoist pre-constitutional Spanish flag, which could be seen camouflaged among many others.
All in order to make ‘cash’. As published at the time The Spanishin the previous edition of Viva22, the far-right party charged 200 euros to occupy a table at the popular market and 2,000 euros to companies for their stands in a prominent space.
While tomorrow Abascal and Milei address their supporters, a demonstration called by various “anti-fascist” associations and groups of “civil society” will take place in Madrid’s Plaza de Colón to protest the presence in Madrid of the extreme right leaders. who have traveled to the capital to support Abascal and promote his European candidacy. Among those attending the march there will also be activists from the LGBTIQ+ community such as Franek Broda, nephew of former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, one of Abascal’s guests.
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