AS THE May 28 local and regional elections approach, many Spanish voters will no doubt be seeking out the election manifestos of the various parties that will be running across the country at the polls. But those who would like to know what far-right Vox is proposing may be in for a surprise.
The party, which is led by politician Santiago Abascal and is the third-largest group in the Congress of Deputies after the Socialist Party and the conservative Popular Party, is only making its election manifesto available if you request it via their website. It is then sent to you via email.
What’s more, according to a report in Spanish daily El Pais, the election manifesto from Vox is exactly the same for every single municipality. The cover of the document does feature the name of the locality in question, such as Madrid, Toledo, Almeria, etc. But the content is the same.
This means that there are some quirks in each document. For example, as El Pais points out, in the Almeria manifesto there is a promise to install ‘new Metro lines’, despite the fact that Almeria has no metro system.
And in the manifesto for the North African city of Melilla, there is a pledge to ‘promote livestock grazing’, an activity which does not take place in the small Spanish exclave.
Among the more generic promises from the far-right party is a promise to cut taxes for companies who offer indefinite work contracts to ‘Spanish workers’, a pledge to ensure that ‘all Spaniards’ can access doctors appointments whenever necessary, and high-quality education for ‘all Spaniards’.