The expulsion of Javier Ortega Smith was the trigger that has allowed Vox's critics to light the fuse against the leadership. The definitive coup de grâce was on February 18, when the party kicked out the former Madrid leader, who, this time, has decided to go to war that he avoided during the January 2024 congress. This rebellion was followed by the Murcian leader, José Ángel Antelo, after the leadership offered him to be a regional candidate on the condition that he leave the provincial presidency, which he did not accept and was expelled from the group with an expediente to be eliminated. Vox's former spokesperson Iván Espinosa de los Monteros –who stepped down in August 2023 and already launched a foundation to influence last September–, joined in, activating the call for an extraordinary congress. And the resignation of the former Castilian-Leonese vice-president Juan García-Gallardo has also been added, who stepped down in February of last year. A series of movements that show the critics' offensive against the leadership of Santiago Abascal.