The Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, has harshly criticized the behavior of the PP deputy Ana Belén Vázquez, who during the Plenary displayed a canister of pepper spray, a gesture that he has described as "more typical of political thuggery" than of a normalized parliamentary debate.
Urtasun spoke in the courtyard of Congress, after the president of the Chamber, Francina Armengol, decided to expel the parliamentarian and also 'popular' spokesperson in the Interior Commission from the hemicycle, understanding that Vázquez had entered the plenary hall with "a weapon" according to current regulations.
The head of Culture emphasized that this type of behavior is "intolerable" and pointed out that the "right and the far right" are increasingly resorting to these forms, which he considers a new expression of "thuggery" that, in his opinion, they have been practicing throughout the legislature.
At the same time, the Police have proceeded to cordon off and seal several rooms in Congress, including a cafeteria, after the presence of pepper spray was detected, supposedly coming from a spray emptied inside a bathroom, according to parliamentary sources. The affected area had become unbreathable and a woman who was in that restroom had to receive assistance.
Reactions from the left and request for sanctions
The parliamentary spokesperson for IU, Enrique Santiago, has directly linked this episode to the attitude of the PP deputy. "An action with victims in Congress: a foreign delegation has needed medical attention," he wrote on the social network 'X'.
In the same vein, he emphasized that it is "an irresponsible action by the right" that, in his opinion, must be subject to investigation and result in sanctions for those responsible.
The deputy from Más Madrid, Tesh Sidi, added that if a leftist representative had been the one to empty a canister of pepper spray causing intoxications to an international delegation, they would end up "in the National Court reported for terrorism." It is regrettable to enter with weapons into Congress and with the endorsement of the PP," she elaborated.
On the other hand, the general secretary of Podemos, Ione Belarra, has countered that what really gives "fear" of the PP is not their '"performances"', but the possibility of them returning to the Executive, because they know what they are "capable" of in the Moncloa: "They are very close to governing (the right) because of the enormous distance between the 'pimpinela' of everyday life of the PP, and what we see on the street which are evictions and people who cannot fill the fridge. A social reality that the Government has turned its back on," she concluded.