The PSOE kicked off this Friday in Valencia its event to resume the pre-election campaign ahead of the general election on 29 November with an emotional minute of silence in memory of the victims of the Urda rail accident (Toledo).
The tribute began at the municipal sports center of El Cabanyal as soon as the secretary general, Pedro Sánchez, entered the venue accompanied by the head of the list for Valencia, Pilar Bernabé, the leader of the PSPV, Diana Morant, and other Socialist officials. At that moment, the entire pavilion observed a minute of silence in remembrance of the 69 people who died in the collision of two high-speed trains recorded last Wednesday, 28 October.
After the minute of silence, the event continued with a brief musical intervention by singer Ángela Cervantes and guitarist Miguel Sandoval, who performed a version of a Rosana song dedicated to the victims.
5,000 attendees and the sports center’s capacity exceeded
Before the rally began, a spokesperson for the organization asked those present to take their seats properly, since the sports center’s maximum capacity, set at 2,500 people, had proved too small: "Expectations have been exceeded" and "a huge number of people" had been left out of the venue.
From two hours before the event started, a long line of hundreds of supporters and Socialist members surrounded the sports center trying to get inside, many of them shouting "we want to get in." For those who were unable to do so, the organization set up, on one of the nearby streets, a giant screen and numerous chairs, so they could follow the rally from outside.
According to PSPV sources, in total around 5,000 people have moved, including those who managed to get into the sports center and those who stayed outside following the event from the street.
Dozens of representatives of Valencia’s teaching staff were positioned on one of the sides of the stands, as a show of support for their demands in the context of the indefinite strike that began a few months ago and is currently paused. Before the rally got underway, the audience gave them an applause.
Sánchez has arrived at the sports hall around seven in the evening, advancing among handshakes and selfies with the supporters who were waiting for him at the entrance. Once inside, the president and candidate has once again experienced a real bath of crowds: it took him more than ten minutes to reach the stage, which has caused the start of the rally to be delayed by an hour from the scheduled time. Throughout that walk along the track, the song "Llavors" by La Fúmiga has been playing.