Spaniards are not giving up calling for national unity against the forces of Catalan and Basque secession.
Another massive protest is planned for Sunday.
In an interview with El Debate, Iván Vélez, director of the conservative think tank La Fundación para la Defensa de la Nación Española (DENAES), warned that Spain is facing a “true head-on threat” and called on all Spaniards to come out, regardless of where they fall on the political spectrum.
“We believe that it is a very serious situation that we face, and it is not the time for division but to join forces to face a situation that we should never have reached,” he added.
DENAES is organizing the protest in the Plaza de Colón in Madrid. Other conservative groups have already pledged to join, including the cultural platforms Pie En Pared, directed by Juan Carlos Girauta, and NEOS, founded by Jaime Mayor Oreja and María San Gil.
After the center-right failed to form a government in September following disappointing elections in July, Acting Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is in a better position to maintain his premiership through a political alliance of leftist parties and Catalan and Basque nationalist parties. These parties are calling for an amnesty for leaders of the illegal 2017 referendum on Catalan independence, and Madrid’s blessing for a new, legal referendum.
Sunday’s protest seeks to “say no to the amnesty and the coup planned by Sánchez.”
Organizers hope to bring together leaders of diverse political parties including VOX, the center-right Partido Popular, and pro-Spanish regional parties such as Unión Del Pueblo De Navarra and Foro Asturias.
“What is being defended here is democracy, the unity of Spain, and the Constitution,” Girautoa also told El Debate.
Organizers have emphasized that Sunday’s protest is not a manifestation of the political Right but a call to all Spaniards to defend their country.
Under the motto “290 all to Colón,” VOX President Santiago Abascal has confirmed his attendance and called for a “permanent mobilization” against Sánchez and separatist leaders.
“The Spanish people have the right and the duty to defend themselves from the blow to equality, the rule of law, and the nation that Sánchez is preparing,” he has posted on social media.
