The former leader of Vox at the Madrid City Council and now an expelled dissenter, Javier Ortega Smith, carried out a highly controversial dismissal of the municipal group's head of communications just after her maternity leave on December 9th of last year. The politician reproached her for not having made "any visits" to the group and for showing "zero interest" during her leave. The woman responded forcefully: "I am on maternity leave, I am breastfeeding a small child," she snapped back in a conversation that was made public this Monday by El País. Ortega Smith displayed "sexist" conduct, according to the judge who ruled on the plaintiff's complaint, but archived the case because it was "improper conduct but not criminally punishable."

Iván Espinosa de los Monteros y de Simón, son of the Marquis of Valtierra, entered politics with Vox and was expelled last Wednesday, culminating a power struggle with the state leadership of Santiago Abascal that had been going on for three years. Everything took a turn for the worse when the right-wing parties lost the 2023 elections and he could not become a minister – which is what he desired – but the clash already stemmed from the electoral lists, where Abascal vetoed several names he proposed for key positions in the state and municipal elections, according to informed sources consulted. Once he has been eliminated, there are no longer any critics within the far-right party and the attempt at internal rebellion to request an extraordinary congress has completely ended. But the rebellion could end up being external, in the form of electoral competition if Espinosa and his acolytes opt to form another party, as several of the former leaders have publicly stated.

Vox's internal investigations committee has agreed to the definitive expulsion of the party's founder and former secretary general, Javier Ortega Smith. The decision was made two weeks after disciplinary proceedings were opened against him. He will be temporarily removed for refusing to step down as spokesperson in the Madrid City Council. The party considers this a "very serious infraction."