A rally demanding early general elections held in Madrid, Spain on the 30th. [EPA=연합뉴스 자료사진 제공]
Tens of thousands of people protested against the government in the Spanish capital Madrid, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and early general elections.
According to the British daily Guardian on the 30th of last month local time, an anti-government protest led by the main opposition party, the People’s Party, was attended by an estimated 80,000 people from the People’s Party and an estimated 40,000 from the government.
National Party leader Alberto Núñez Feihu criticized ‘sanchismo’, which refers to Prime Minister Sánchez’s political style, and claimed, “Sanchismo is politically, economically, institutionally, socially and morally corrupt. Sanchismo is in prison and must resign from the government.”
The protest to step down comes as Prime Minister Sánchez is embroiled in a series of corruption allegations involving his family and close associates.
Former Transportation Secretary Jose Luis Avalos, a close ally of Prime Minister Sánchez, was arrested last week on charges of receiving kickbacks while awarding government contracts to supply sanitary equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Several of Prime Minister Sánchez’s aides are also being investigated in this case.
Another close associate, Prosecutor General Álvaro García Ortiz, resigned last week after being found guilty by the Supreme Court of leaking information related to the boyfriend of Spain’s Madrid governor, who is hostile to the government.
Prime Minister Sánchez’s wife was also indicted on charges of embezzlement of public funds last August, and Prime Minister Sánchez’s brother is also suspected of being involved in a corruption case.
Prime Minister Sánchez dismisses these charges against his family and close associates as nothing more than a political offensive, but the political burden is increasing as calls for early general elections emerge.
Prime Minister Sánchez leads the Social Labor Party, which is classified as a center-left party, and has been in power for a long time after becoming prime minister by passing a no-confidence motion against the National Party cabinet on June 1, 2018.
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Jang Hyo-in (hijang@yna.co.kr)
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