Ayuso tells Valencia rally Sánchez fears swapping La Moncloa for Soto del Real

A rally in Valencia's Mercado de Colón

Isabel Díaz Ayuso, president of the Community of Madrid, spoke on Saturday, 7 November, at a Partido Popular rally in the Mercado de Colón in Valencia. She appeared alongside Juanfran Pérez Llorca, president of the Generalitat and the PPCV, and María José Catalá, the city's mayor and the PP's lead candidate for Congress in the province. Europa Press reported that Ayuso reached the market around 12.45 and needed more than fifteen minutes to get from the entrance to the stage, as supporters applauded and chanted 'Presidenta'. Attendance figures differ: El Mundo counted more than fifty militants and supporters inside, while Europa Press described hundreds gathering around the venue. The event came the day after Pedro Sánchez, leader of the PSOE, held his own rally in the same city.

Ayuso's attack on Sánchez

Ayuso used the rally to say that Sánchez is afraid of changing La Moncloa for Soto del Real, ahead of the 29 November general election. El Mundo quoted her on the Socialists' campaign about fear of change:

“They now talk about fear of change, and it will be about changing La Moncloa for Soto del Real.”

She called the Socialists a mafia, accused them of corruption and of using public money to build a small world of their own, and pointed to recent arrests of people close to Sánchez. She also claimed that Sánchez wants a plurinational republic that would break up Spain with Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and the Valencian Community. According to La Razón, she said it took another railway accident for people to see that corruption kills.

Feijóo and the PP's message in Valencia

Ayuso called Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the PP president, indispensable because he will deliver for Spain, and said the country needs a leader who understands how different regions live. Catalá praised Ayuso and said she embodies the women of the PP. Catalá also contrasted Sánchez's Friday event, held in an enclosed sports hall in the Cabanyal-Canyamelar area, with the PP's campaigning on the street, calling it a franchise rally that could have been held in any Spanish city.

Pérez Llorca criticized former minister Óscar Puente for keeping his Congress seat days after resigning from government. His speech did not mention that the PP keeps former Valencian president Carlos Mazón as a deputy in the Corts Valencianes. He also defended tax cuts by his government and urged Valencia to follow Madrid's tax model.

Unions and the campaign ahead

Ayuso also attacked the trade unions, saying they had stayed quiet during Sánchez's years and were now backing a general strike called for Wednesday, 11 November. Her speech framed the 29 November vote as a choice between those who work and those who live off the public purse. The campaign will continue through the coming weeks until the general election on 29 November.