Tens of thousands of people rallied in Madrid on Sunday, participating in an opposition-organised demonstration to accuse the government of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of corruption.
Demonstrators, many waving Spanish flags, filled the Plaza de España, chanting calls for Sanchez’s resignation.
The rally, spearheaded by the Popular Party (PP), was prompted by leaked audio recordings. These recordings allegedly document Socialist party member Leire Diez conducting a smear campaign against a police unit investigating graft allegations against Sanchez’s wife, brother, and his former close aide.
Diez has denied these allegations, stating Wednesday that she was researching for a book and not acting on behalf of the party or Sanchez, and has since resigned from the Socialist party.
PP leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo strongly condemned the affair, accusing the government of “mafia practices” and asserting that Sanchez is “at the centre” of multiple corruption scandals.
Speaking at the rally, Feijóo declared, “This government has stained everything — politics, state institutions, the separation of powers,” and urged Sánchez to call early elections.
The PP estimated over 100,000 attendees, while the central government’s representative in Madrid put the turnout between 45,000 and 50,000.
Blanca Requejo, a 46-year-old store manager draped in a Spanish flag, told AFP at the rally, “The expiry date on this government passed a long time ago. It’s getting tiring.”
Prime Minister Sanchez has consistently dismissed the investigations into his inner circle, labelling them as part of a “smear campaign” by the right wing aimed at destabilising his government.
Sanchez himself rose to power in June 2018 after ousting his PP predecessor, Mariano Rajoy, through a no-confidence vote sparked by a corruption scandal involving the conservative party.
Recent polls indicate only a slim lead for the PP over the Socialists, with the next general election anticipated in 2027.
