Bullets in the post
Death threats cloud the Madrid regional election campaign
THE CAMPAIGN for the Madrid regional election, due to be held on Tuesday, has been marred in its final stages by a string of death threats sent to public figures.
Last Thursday, Unidas Podemos (UP) leader Pablo Iglesias revealed that he, minister for the interior Fernando Grande-Marlaska and the director general of the Guardia Civil, María Gámez had each received threatening notes with live bullets in the post that day.
The one to Sr Iglesias, who left his deputy prime minister job to run as a candidate in the Madrid election, said: “You have let our parents and grandparents die. Your wife, your parents and you are sentenced to capital punishment. Your time is up.”
He claimed it was ‘a consequence of the far right normalising and laundering hate-speech’, citing other unpunished acts including an incendiary device thrown at the UP office in Cartagena on April 2.
The threats of violence were criticised by all sides but some qualified their condemnation with certain reservations.
Partido Popular (PP) Madrid mayor José Luis Martínez
Almeida said Sr Iglesias must not use them ‘to criminalise and stigmatise a section of Spanish society’.
Then came a dramatic confrontation between Sr Iglesias and Vox candidate, Rocio Monasterio, at the start of a live debate between all the candidates (except Isabel Díaz Ayuso of the PP who had refused to take part) on national radio station Cadena Ser on Friday.
The UP leader insisted that Sra Monasterio retract comments she had made in an earlier interview, which questioned his credibility over whether the threats were genuine.
She refused and although she did condemn violence she challenged him to walk out.
Sr Iglesias did just that and the bad tempered debate was called to a premature end after the Socialist (PSOE) and Más Madrid candidates said they could not tolerate any more ‘provocations’ from Sra Monasterio and ruled out further debates with Vox.
The post office (Correos) started proceedings against the company it subcontracted to scan and check correspondence, and asked for the security guard who had not noticed the bullets to be ‘removed immediately’.
National Police and Guardia Civil anti-terrorist units are investigating the threats.
There was further consternation after industry and tourism minister Reyes Maroto was sent a knife marked with red spots on Monday, although the sender had filled in their details on the package and turned out to suffer from a serious psychiatric disorder.
Correos intercepted two more letters containing bullets
on Wednesday, one to the Guardia Civil headquarters and the other to Sra Díaz Ayuso, who dismissed the threats and claimed publicising them only encourages more.
Nevertheless, the incidents stifled debate about the real issues of the election and have reduced much of the coverage to the opposing slogans of ‘communism or freedom’, and ‘democracy or fascism’.