Vox promotes the young Calvet and the Islamophobic Tomás, who wants "Moors out"

BarcelonaShe is neither a spokesperson nor does she hold any official position within the parliamentary group, but in mid-February she was the one who spoke during the question period for the president, Albert Dalmau's last as substitute for Salvador Illa, who was on sick leave at the time. She is Vox deputy Júlia Calvet Puig, born in 2001. She is one of the people being promoted by the far-right party, and sources within the party consulted by ARA describe her as "their bet for the future" in Catalonia.

Calvet is one of the hottest names in Vox in Catalonia, at a time when the party aspires to a broader appeal. Sources consulted by ARA summarize this by explaining that they aspire to a "more collective" leadership, that is, a more polyphonic one, in a party where plurality is precisely what is lacking. Calvet's profile helps the far right connect with young people—she was also president of S'ha Acabat—and alongside her, the spokesperson in the Catalan Parliament and leader of Vox Barcelona, ​​Joan Garriga, and the party's leader in the Terrassa City Council, Alicia Tomás, are also gaining prominence. This change in approach confirms that, beyond Ignacio Garriga and Santiago Abascal, the party also wants to project female voices.

Calvet was already appointed Vox's youth spokesperson in February of last year, and in December she was incorporated as a member of the leadership, surprising the state leadership. replacing Javier Ortega SmithShe excels in youth issues and is a voice against feminism mixed with the rejection of Islam, and in defense of the use of Spanish—or bilingualism in Catalan. In the case of Joan Garriga, his provincial leadership, his influence in inland Catalonia, and his role in the debate on Catalan identity stand out.

Tomás's campaign

Tomás has the most Islamophobic profile within Vox, which he displays openly, for example, last Thursday at an anti-Islam demonstration in Tarragona. Vox sources emphasize that his discourse "goes beyond what the party stands for," but that they give him "free rein" because what he says suits their purposes. Tomás's attitude is applauded. between people from the Aliança Catalana orbitAnd this is one of the voting blocs the Spanish far right wants to reach. Tomás directly chants the slogan "Moors out."

In a conversation with ARA, he maintains that "we must be very forceful because Islamism continues to advance and is a political-religious ideology incompatible with the West, our way of life; a real threat." He insists on a discourse that lumps all Muslims together, although he adds that women "must be liberated" because they suffer "violence" and are "victims of the morality police" in neighborhoods like Ca n'Anglada: "To say Moors out "It's not hate, I'm being consistent. It has to do with the advance of an ideology that has nothing to do with us [...] Any Moors who come here to impose a way of life, a religion, and a culture that violates human rights and our civilization, all of them out." He then adds, "Anyone who comes here to abide by the law, respecting our identity and traditions, and with the will to integrate, can pray to whatever god they want in their own home."

She paints a picture of a Catalonia "without freedom" because of Islam and asserts that, as a mother of three children who attend public school, she sees the "difficulties" they face in learning and the "decline" in educational standards due to the high percentage of outsiders. Before entering politics, this hairdresser—who still works—was involved with Spanish nationalist associations such as Terrassa per la Unitat, Somatemps, and Espanya i Catalans, and had already accompanied Ignacio Garriga on some visits to the city.

But his visceral stance has led to complaints from the Terrassa City Council and SOS Racisme – and is keeping Vox's lawyer, Juan Cremades, busy. His criticism of the mayor of Terrassa, Jordi Ballart (he was wearing a t-shirt asking the mayor "why he is silent about the rapes in Terrassa"), has resulted in a fine of 1,200 euros.