The rally and the crowd

Protesters gathered in María Pita square in A Coruña on Wednesday, 21 October, while Vox leader Santiago Abascal held a rally at the Puerta Real entrance to the square. Student and youth groups called the demonstration, among them Galiza Nova, which Europa Press listed alongside the Sindicato de Inquilinas. La Razón named Juventudes Socialistas, the BNG, Sindicato de Vivenda and Riazor Blues as backers and said the crowd assembled at 11:30, an hour before Abascal's arrival.

Estimates of the crowd varied by outlet. Europa Press and La Razón counted more than a thousand people, LaSexta described thousands, La Vanguardia counted several hundred, mostly young people, many with their faces covered, and El Mundo reported dozens. Europa Press said the chanting began at 11.00, and the Policía Nacional formed a cordon of more than a dozen vans around the area.

Clashes at the square

According to Europa Press, the trouble came when the Vox event ended, when a clash between police and demonstrators led to a charge in one part of the crowd. La Razón reported that protesters threw eggs, firecrackers, stones and paving stones at officers, and that police intervened to stop them. ABC described protesters striking agents and throwing flagpoles, which officers answered, while El Mundo said there were no serious incidents. LaSexta reported a few charges that were resolved without greater complication, and said the crowd calmed after Abascal left, though young people kept chanting against fascism.

Reactions from the organisers, the stage and City Hall

Artai Gabiás, secretary general of Galiza Nova, told reporters that Vox's messages of hate were not welcome in Galicia.

“Their hatred and racism are a strategy to divide the popular classes. The problems are not the migrants, the problem is the failure of the capitalist system.”

Asked about the protest during the event, Abascal said no coercion could stop his party and that the demonstrators did not scare them. He argued that after a change of government it would not be possible to harass citizens or go to the squares to stop people speaking freely. Speaking to reporters afterwards, he thanked the riot police and blamed Pedro Sánchez indirectly.

“Many residents wanted to listen freely here in María Pita square and were met with the violent coercion of Sánchez's accomplices and partners.”

Socialist mayor Inés Rey placed responsibility on the PP and its leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo, arguing that far-right messages were taking root and that the party was free to roam in regional governments.

“This city has always been an anti-fascist bastion and a wall against those who come to roll back social gains.”

Rey also said the PP was ready to negotiate and run jointly in the Senate, and accused Feijóo of boasting that Galicia had no far right.

Pre-campaign context

La Vanguardia described the visit as a pre-campaign event ahead of the 29 November vote, and La Razón said it was Abascal's fifth visit to A Coruña. In his pre-campaign speeches, Abascal has said Sánchez is encouraging violence ahead of the elections, citing Ceuta and the Puerta del Sol, according to La Vanguardia. According to La Razón and LaSexta, the protesters and Vox supporters were kept in opposite corners of the square, with a human barrier of riot police between them.