Local Government Offensive by PP and Vox: Series of Burqa Bans and Scandals in Spanish Cities

A legislative wave targeting religious head coverings that conceal the face is sweeping through Spanish town halls. In Murcia, with the support of PP and Vox councilors, a ban on entering municipal buildings in burqas and niqabs was voted through. Similar steps were taken by the authorities of Palma in Mallorca, where the ban was additionally extended to city buses, as well as Toledo, Zaragoza, and Huesca. The right-wing coalition argues these changes are based on security grounds and the need for identification in offices. Meanwhile, Barcelona, governed by the left, firmly rejected a similar project, deeming it an infringement on religious freedom and stigmatizing minorities. At the same time, Alicante has become the center of an economic scandal after irregularities were detected in the commercialization of apartments built with public support. The local authorities of Sant Joan d'Alacant reported suspicion of a crime, and the specialized police unit UDEF and the public prosecutor's office have taken up the case. The investigation concerns alleged illegal trading of rights to future social housing units, which undermines trust in the region's housing policy. In the shadow of these events, the Spanish police published a report indicating that over the last three years, 26 proceedings were initiated in cases of sexual harassment within the uniformed structures, with nearly half of the reports dismissed, raising controversy over the effectiveness of protective protocols. The Spanish debates on burqa bans refer to legal dilemmas from 2013, when the Supreme Court ruled that city councils lack the competence to restrict religious freedoms in public space without a clear statutory basis.At the national level, the Congress of Deputies has called on the government to pay compensation to the García Caparrós family, recognizing the tragic events of 1977 as part of the struggle for Andalusian autonomy. This case, along with recent resignations of officials in Móstoles and Alcalá de Henares amid accusations of abuses, paints a picture of deep tensions at the intersection of local politics and social justice. „El Estado tiene que asumir su responsabilidad histórica con este asesinato” (The State must assume its historical responsibility for this murder) — The García Caparrós family

Perspektywy mediów: The eldiario.es service emphasizes the instrumentalization of the burqa issue by the right as a diversionary topic distracting from social problems. The newspapers ABC and La Razón present the bans as rational actions for security and the protection of Western cultural values.