Violence erupted between rival protesters in the Spanish city of Granada just days after Spain’s socialist government approved plans to grant legal status to 500,000 migrants.
The clashes broke out at a rally held by hard-right party Vox in Plaza de las Pasiegas, which was delayed by around 30 minutes after roughly 40 left-wing activists attempted to disrupt proceedings.
Police were forced to form a cordon between the two sides as tensions spilled over, with footage showing scuffles and pushing as officers moved in to keep the groups apart.
Vox leader Santiago Abascal accused the authorities of failing to act and warned he would personally intervene if the demonstrators were not removed, as tensions continued to build over Spain’s immigration policy.
‘They are preventing us from carrying out this act freely,’ he said. He told supporters the rally would not begin until the group had been dispersed, giving officials minutes to act before threatening to step in himself.
Moments later, Abascal stepped down from the platform and, flanked by party figures and a large number of supporters, walked towards the rival group as crowds chanted ‘Out, out!’
The situation briefly escalated as the two sides faced off at close range, before Abascal and his supporters returned and the rally finally got underway.
Smaller groups of protesters later reappeared near the square after the rally had started, having earlier used social media to encourage people to attend the pre-election event, though no additional clashes were reported.
Abascal later blamed Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez for the unrest, claiming: ‘They are the ones who put Sánchez in La Moncloa,’ as he accused opponents of trying to sabotage the event.
The unrest comes amid growing tensions over Spain’s immigration policy after the government signed off plans to grant legal status to around 500,000 migrants.
Thousands have since gathered at consulates across the country, with around 8,000 migrants reportedly visiting the Moroccan consulate in Almeria alone to begin the process of securing documentation.
Online applications for the scheme opened today following approval at a cabinet meeting earlier this week.
Immigration dominated the Granada rally, with Vox figures Abascal accusing the government of ‘promoting an invasion’ through mass regularisation ahead of the event.
The party also turned its fire on the opposition People’s Party, claiming it had failed to offer a meaningful challenge to the government’s approach.
Images from this weekend from Madrid, Bilbao, and Almeria showed snaking queues consisting of hundreds of people in the streets.
In a bid to alleviate pressure on an already overburdened immigration system, only five of the country’s 54 immigration offices are responsible for handling applications.
The rest are being distributed among social security offices, post offices, and NGOs, according to the Spanish union CCOO.
Immigration offices across the country this week threatened to strike next week in protest at Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s mass amnesty program for undocumented migrants.
The amnesty is a central plank of Sanchez’s progressive agenda to harness the economic benefits of migration for its ageing population, even as other European governments move to tighten their borders.
