{"id":9890,"date":"2025-06-08T21:05:05","date_gmt":"2025-06-08T21:05:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=9890"},"modified":"2025-06-08T21:05:05","modified_gmt":"2025-06-08T21:05:05","slug":"tens-of-thousands-rally-in-spain-for-pm-sanchez-to-resign-over-corruption","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=9890","title":{"rendered":"Tens of thousands rally in Spain for PM Sanchez to resign over corruption"},"content":{"rendered":"
Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered in central Madrid on Sunday in a rally organised by Spain’s conservative opposition, accusing Prime Minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez and his Socialist-led government of corruption and demanding early elections.<\/p>\n

Protesters waving Spanish flags and chanting \u201cPedro S\u00e1nchez, resign!\u201d filled Plaza de Espa\u00f1a, responding to a call from the Popular Party (PP). The rally follows leaked audio recordings that allegedly implicate a former Socialist Party member, Leire D\u00edez, in efforts to discredit police investigations into corruption claims involving S\u00e1nchez\u2019s wife, brother, and former minister Jos\u00e9 Luis \u00c1balos.<\/p>\n

D\u00edez has denied the allegations, insisting she was conducting research for a book and was not acting on behalf of the government. She has since resigned from the Socialist Workers’ Party.<\/p>\n

Speaking at the rally, PP leader Alberto N\u00fa\u00f1ez Feij\u00f3o accused S\u00e1nchez\u2019s administration of \u201cmafia practices\u201d and declared: \u201cThis government has stained everything \u2013 politics, state institutions, the separation of powers.\u201d<\/p>\n

The PP claimed over 100,000 people attended the demonstration under the slogan \u201cMafia or Democracy\u201d, though officials from the central government put the turnout between 45,000 and 50,000.<\/p>\n

The S\u00e1nchez government has been rocked by several corruption-related controversies in recent months, most notably the so-called \u201cKoldo Case\u201d \u2013 an alleged scheme involving inflated COVID-era public contracts for medical supplies.<\/p>\n

The case centres on Koldo Garc\u00eda Izaguirre, a former adviser to S\u00e1nchez\u2019s then-transport minister \u00c1balos. Garc\u00eda is accused of using political connections to steer contracts towards favoured companies in exchange for large commissions.<\/p>\n

In April 2024, S\u00e1nchez briefly considered resigning after a Madrid court opened an investigation into his wife, Bego\u00f1a G\u00f3mez, on suspicion of influence peddling and business corruption. The accusations stemmed from a complaint by right-wing group Manos Limpias (Clean Hands), which claims G\u00f3mez used her position to benefit certain companies.<\/p>\n

S\u00e1nchez has strongly denied any wrongdoing by himself or his inner circle, describing the investigations and leaks as part of a coordinated right-wing smear campaign aimed at destabilising his administration.<\/p>\n

But with public anger growing and political pressure mounting, the PP is hoping to capitalise on the unrest. Despite the controversies, Spain\u2019s next general election is not due until 2027, though recent polls suggest the PP has a slight edge over S\u00e1nchez\u2019s Socialist Party.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe expiry date on this government passed a long time ago,\u201d protester Blanca Requejo, 46, told AFP. \u201cIt\u2019s getting tiring.\u201d<\/p>\n

S\u00e1nchez came to power in 2018 after ousting former PP Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy in a no-confidence vote triggered by a separate corruption scandal.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered in central Madrid on Sunday in a rally organised by Spain’s conservative opposition, accusing Prime Minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez and his Socialist-led government of corruption and demanding early elections. Protesters waving Spanish flags and chanting \u201cPedro S\u00e1nchez, resign!\u201d filled Plaza de Espa\u00f1a, responding to a call from the Popular Party […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9890"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9890\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}