Ávila mayor condemns coffin with Pedro Sánchez image on Hoyocasero town hall

The display in Hoyocasero

A cardboard coffin was placed on the main balcony of the town hall in Hoyocasero, a village of 300 inhabitants about 50 kilometres south of Ávila, beside the official flags. Frente Amplio's photograph shows a red cross, the word 'RIP' and an image of the president of the Government, Pedro Sánchez. The coffin appeared in the early hours between 31 October and 1 November, and the people who placed it are unknown. Frente Amplio read the two years printed on the lower part of the coffin as a reference to 2018, when Sánchez came to power after a motion of no confidence, and to 2026, which it said suggested the loss of the general elections due on 29 November.

Mayor condemns the display

Iván Picós of the PP was outside the village when the coffin appeared, and a councillor informed him of what had happened. He then spoke with the two councillors of the town, who agreed to remove the cardboard coffin 'immediately'. Picós said the response was coordinated and agreed upon by the mayor's office and both councillors, and he described the act as 'absolutely regrettable, unacceptable and incompatible' with democratic coexistence. He also filed a complaint with the Guardia Civil so that those responsible can be identified.

“Political differences can never justify disrespect, intimidation, personal disqualification or actions that undermine the dignity of people or of democratic institutions.”

Picós added that the town's residents are hard-working, respectful and committed to coexistence, and he said the town hall would defend institutional respect whichever party governs.

Electoral complaint and party reactions

Frente Amplio, an electoral coalition, filed a complaint with the Junta Electoral de Zona de Ávila against the town council on 2 November. It argues that the display breaches political and institutional neutrality and could amount to a hate crime under the Criminal Code. The coalition cites article 103.1 of the Spanish Constitution, articles 8.1 and 50.2 of the Organic Law on the General Electoral Regime (LOREG), and the Junta Electoral Central agreement of 4 December 2017, which bans party symbols on public buildings. Frente Amplio also demanded the immediate removal of the mock coffin.

Carlos Montesino, secretary general of the PSOE in Ávila, called the display 'absolutely intolerable'. He pointed to earlier protests outside the PSOE headquarters on Ferraz street in Madrid, where a hanging was simulated and an effigy bearing Sánchez's image was beaten.

“We cannot allow the representation of the death of a political opponent to be normalized as a way of expressing disagreement with his decisions.”

The PSOE asked the Hoyocasero town hall to clarify how the items came to be placed on its balcony, without assigning responsibility in advance.

Open questions

The reports do not include any decision by the Junta Electoral de Zona de Ávila on the Frente Amplio complaint. They also do not give any result of the Guardia Civil inquiry requested by the mayor. The people who placed the coffin remain unidentified in the reporting.