Deputy Mayor of Madrid abandons protest in Spain’s capital after trouble breaks out

Deputy Mayor of  Spain’s Madrid, Begoña Villacís, abandoned the protest in the capital after a group of women, shouting and pushing, pressured the Ciudadanos political group to leave.

 Thousands of people have united this Sunday to protest for women’s rights. Contrastingly to 2018 and 2019, this year, a feminist strike has not been organized. The main marches organized in Barcelona and Madrid have seen decreases in participation in comparison to earlier years. For example, this year in Madrid, only 120,000 people formed part of the protest, roughly 65% less than in 2019, when figures recorded the participation of 350,000 individuals.

Despite the threat of Coronavirus, which has now reached 600 cases within the country, thousands have taken to the streets to demand equality and an end to the violence and discrimination against women.

 Some of the chants heard included ‘We are not all here, we are missing those who have been killed’ and ‘No means No’.

All large political parties were present at the March, including right wing parties PP and Ciudadanos but excluding the far-right party Vox. Protestors had a tense confrontation with the presence of the deputy mayor, Villacís, and her party, Ciudadanos, as they were angered by the party’s alliance with the controversial Vox.

 Santiago Abascal, the leader of Vox, proclaimed in a rally that “those who do not represent women are the crazy ones shouting terrible things and scaring other women”.  Protestors rallied back at the march by shouting “Fascists get out of our neighbourhoods”.