About 20,000 people, according to data provided by the Government Delegation at 12:00 hours, are participating this Saturday in the second 'March for Dignity' in Madrid, a mobilization aimed at denouncing the actions of the Executive in the Ceuta crisis and demanding the urgent calling of general elections with the guarantee that "they will be clean" in the face of the "growing suspicion that the Government is preparing an electoral fraud."
The protest, organized by Sociedad Civil Española (SCE), a platform that brings together more than 150 civic associations, is taking place without incidents. It began at 10:00 hours in Plaza de Cibeles and travels along Calle Alcalá, Gran Vía, and Princesa until it ends at the Arco de la Victoria, in the Moncloa area.
In the march, escorted by a large police deployment, are present the leader of Vox, Santiago Abascal, and several leaders of the PP, headed by their general secretary, Miguel Tellado.
The protesters shout slogans against the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, and against President Pedro Sánchez, while displaying banners demanding their immediate resignation and the calling of general elections in light of what they call "systematic decay."
Abascal has denounced that the Government "has done nothing" since the massive arrival of immigrants at the end of July to resolve the situation in Ceuta, beyond informing its inhabitants that "they have to get used to a structural reality."
In this regard, the Vox leader has expressed his "distrust" towards "any of the actions" of an Executive that, in his opinion, "obeys the interests of Morocco." "We do not know how long the situation will last. What we do know is that there are increasingly more problems in Ceuta," he added, insisting that the Government continues to "promote the migratory invasion."
Furthermore, he claims that the Executive does not know how many unaccompanied migrant minors are actually in Ceuta "because it has not done age tests" and because "they lie everywhere." In his view, the solution is for these children and adolescents who "have entered irregularly" into Spain to be "sent back with their parents to Morocco," a country that, he recalled, has expressed its willingness for them to return.
Criticism from the PP of the Government's management
The general secretary of the PP has stated that in Spain there is no serious Government, but an Executive focused on defending itself from the corruption cases surrounding it and that "has committed crimes to cover up its own offenses."
In his opinion, in the Ceuta crisis there is "an evident responsibility" of the Government. "There has been a neglect of duties, a maximum negligence, because it knew what was going to happen and did not act. And they knew it because there were prior reports warning about it," he emphasized.
Content of the manifesto of the march
The manifesto read during the mobilization demands "the immediate call for general elections so that the Spanish people can express their will freely." "Let's end Pedro Sánchez at the polls and send his rotten regime to the dumpster of oblivion from which it never returns. Our Nation and our future depend on it," the organizers maintain.
They also demand "guarantees that the elections will be clean and that there will be no adulteration of the census," in light of the "growing suspicion that the Government is preparing an electoral fraud through twisted maneuvers," referring to the nationalizations linked to the so-called 'grandchildren's law.'
Thirdly, they propose the initiation "without further delay in Congress of the procedure provided for in article 102 of the Constitution to judge the president of the Government for treason and for attacking the security of the State." This demand has been defended by Vox in recent weeks following the management of the Ceuta crisis, while the PP has rejected it so far, referring to the procedure opened in the National Court.
The promoters of the march believe that "the people of Ceuta and also the people of Melilla need strong and urgent answers." "They give us a valuable example every day by fighting for their land and their families with dignity and courage," they underline.
Therefore, the text demands "the immediate application of the appropriate legal instrument for the militarization of the square and the expulsion to Morocco of all the invaders." "To support them in their fight against the invasion of their city, our next appointment will be in Barcelona on October 12, National Day and Day of the Hispanicity," they add.
Background of mobilizations by PP and Vox
Leaders of the PP and Vox participated on May 23 in the first 'March for Dignity', also promoted by Sociedad Civil Española, in which the "immediate" resignation of the president of the Government was demanded due to the "disaster" that, they claimed at the time, he is leading Spain to.
That day, the demonstration, under the slogan 'Sánchez, resignation now!', started from the Madrid Plaza de Colón and also concluded at the Arco de Moncloa. It was supported by about 40,000 people, according to figures from the Government Delegation in Madrid.
In that first call, Abascal again led the representation of Vox, while Alberto Núñez Feijóo did not attend, as he was at the PP congress in the Balearic Islands. Instead, the popular party sent the spokesperson for the Popular Group in the Senate, who is repeating presence at this Saturday's march.
For their part, both Feijóo and Abascal did attend the concentration held on September 2 in Cibeles, coinciding with the Day of Ceuta, to support the autonomous city after the avalanche of irregular migrants registered on July 30 and 31.