A Vox councillor declares war on Valencia in Abascal's party

Valencia"No matter how much they intimidate me, no matter how much the harassment, stalking and pressure increases, I will continue to defend the values and principles for which the Valencians elected me to be here." The now former spokesperson for Vox in the Valencia City Council, Juanma Badenas, did not mince his words this Wednesday, and declared war on what until a few days ago was his own party and put the precarious majority that PP and Vox had in the council on the ropes - his vote as an unaffiliated councillor will be decisive in tipping the balance. From his words it is clear that he will continue as an unaffiliated councillor and Vox has already issued a statement this Wednesday in which it stresses that Badenas does not speak on behalf of the party.

Vox has opened an investigation against him for allegedly falsified awards - reported to the Prosecutor's Office and the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency by Compromís -, especially a contract with the public company Valencia Activa to insert institutional advertising and promote the figure of Badenas and that of his partner, the also Vox councilor Ceci. In an appearance without questions, the now former deputy mayor of Valencia has reported that he has filed a complaint for the alleged crimes of libel, slander and against privacy and for illegal recordings. And it all starts with some audios in which he is heard explaining how he plans to allocate money to the right-wing media that he considers appropriate with the excuse of making the assignments through the company where the husband of the -socialist- delegate of the Spanish government in Valencia, Pilar Bernabé, works, to mislead.

Badenas has assured that he feels like the victim of a "political persecution", of a "potiner setup by Pepe Gotera and Otilio" and of a "Valencian Watergate". The councillor has pointed out that this "harassment" and "persecution" occur due to his status as a "Vox militant" and his opposition to the urban agreements reached by the City Council and Valencia CF for the construction of the team's new stadium. He has also pointed out that the reported bid does not correspond to a contract from his department but from the municipal entity Las Naves, run by the PP.

"It does not represent Vox"

Following the statements made by the far-right politician, Vox has issued a statement stressing that the former deputy mayor no longer "represents" its party and that "any demonstration or political action" carried out in its name "has no validity and does not have the support of the party", at least until the file is resolved.

The Vox crisis in Valencia City Council is added to the one recently caused in Castilla y León by the resignation of the now former vice president of the regional government and until now leader of the party in that autonomous region, Juan García-Gallardo, due to "disagreements with the national leadership".