"Pedro Sánchez, to prison"... and Abascal rock star: the Madrid demonstration in support of Ceuta

Madrid"And what are they doing today?", asked a woman on Madrid's Gran Vía a few minutes after nine in the morning. "I think a demonstration for democracy and rights", replied a security guard who was a sympathizer of the cause but clearly misinformed. At that moment, the avenue was already blocked off and the first attendees of the call by the Sociedad Civil Española platform were beginning to arrive at the Plaza de Cibeles in support of Ceuta and against the Spanish government. Well, especially against Pedro Sánchez, who, as is now usual in right-wing demonstrations, has become the target and has been called absolutely everything: traitor, son of a bitch, to prison... In fact, the manifesto calling for the mobilization, supported by the PP and Vox, demanded immediate elections, treason proceedings against the Spanish Prime Minister, and the militarization of Ceuta to drive out the "invaders". According to the Spanish Government Delegation in Madrid, they managed to gather 20,000 attendees on a three-kilometer route that reached as far as Moncloa.

It was the second time that Sociedad Civil Española had called for a demonstration in Madrid, but the first one, held in the month of May, was more successful: it reached 50,000 attendees. Who is behind this entity? First of all, it must be clarified that it has no connection with the Societat Civil Catalana that is known in Catalonia and which mobilized Spanish nationalism during the 'Procés'; it is a right-wing platform promoted by the hardest wing of the PP and Vox. Behind it are names like Aleix Vidal-Quadras, founder of Santiago Abascal's party, and Jaime Mayor Oreja, a former People's Party Interior Minister. However, the message was dominated by Vox, which, unlike the PP, this Saturday knew how to better control the staging. The fact is that among those attending the demonstration, the extremes predominated: some rebuked the national police for being in Madrid and not in Ceuta: "The brave ones are there".

Santiago Abascal has become a true rock star among the protesters. He arrived punctually at the start of the demonstration and mingled with the people at the head of the march: despite being surrounded by a party delegation, he spent the morning talking and taking selfies with the protesters (most of them middle-aged and older). "Where is Feijóo?", asked a woman who was chatting with three friends. "He is surely here", another replied, convinced. A perfect example of the electoral competition between the two parties within the sociological composition of the right.

The reality is that Alberto Núñez Feijóo was not there and that he has opted to send the party's hardest sector: Miguel Tellado, Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo and Alicia García. They, however, did not have the same ability to move as Santiago Abascal. To begin with, they summoned the press to make statements an hour later than the start of the demonstration, at 11 o'clock in the same Plaza Cibeles. Since the march had already been going on for a while, no one was left there, and they had to walk almost a kilometer along the Gran Vía, alone, until they met up with the protest.

They joined after dodging the cleaning trucks and the National Police vans, and they incorporated themselves into the march without drawing attention. "Cayetana, Cayetana!", was heard on a few occasions, while Tellado and García went unnoticed among a crowd that demanded a firm hand and that sought shelter from the sun with a Vox fan. A good metaphor for what is happening to the PP.