Manuel Gavira is the Vox candidate for the Presidency of the Junta de Andalucía in the 17M elections. Born in Cádiz in 1969, he is a lawyer, a law graduate from the University of Cádiz, and a member of Vox since 2014. He takes over from Macarena Olona, the previous Vox candidate in the 2022 elections.
Gavira entered institutional politics in 2018, when Vox entered the Andalusian Parliament with 12 deputies. Since then, he has gained internal weight within the party and was appointed spokesperson for the parliamentary group in 2021. In March 2026, he was officially designated candidate for the Presidency of the Junta by Vox's National Executive Committee.
A lawyer at the head of Vox Andalucía
Before his political career, Gavira practiced law for more than two decades. He was also a legal professor authorized by the Ministry of the Interior and a business consultant. This legal profile has marked his parliamentary style, more technical than that of other Vox leaders, although his campaign has fully embraced the party's hardline stance.
Gavira is Vox's third candidate in Andalusian elections, after Francisco Serrano in 2018 and Macarena Olona in 2022. His role is different: it is no longer just about entering Parliament, but about trying to make Vox the key to forming a government if the PP does not achieve an absolute majority.
The objective: for Vox to be decisive
Gavira's campaign has had a very clear political objective: to prevent Juanma Moreno from governing alone. Vox wants to increase its parliamentary weight and influence the investiture, with the aspiration of entering the Andalusian government or, at least, imposing part of its agenda.
The party has focused its messages on immigration, security, tax cuts, the primary sector, and rejection of the policies of the PP and the PSOE.
The challenge of 17M
Gavira is playing to confirm whether Vox has room to grow in Andalusia or if its role is limited by the PP's ability to absorb "useful vote" on the right. Santiago Abascal's party needs more than a good percentage: it needs its seats to be indispensable.
If Moreno surpasses the absolute majority, Vox can grow and still be left out of governing. If the PP falls short, Gavira automatically becomes a central figure of the night.