The war surrounding the rainbow flag that splashed across Spain yesterday in the institutions where Vox has power goes far beyond symbolism. On LGTBI Pride Day, and before the 23-J elections that point towards a possible pact between the PP and Vox, Spain, a pioneer in the expansion of rights, made it clear that it will give this campaign a face. Faced with the threat to conquered rights, the central government pointed out that it represents an open and plural Spain, and the PP distanced itself from the extreme right with its own manifesto. But the pacts with Vox, and what they are beginning to mean, weigh heavily.
What happened yesterday in Castilla y León shows the framework of the campaign. The presidency of the Parliament, in the hands of Vox and contrary to the fact that the LGTBI flag was flying, sent a request to the PSOE to remove the sign that it hung between several windows of the institution. Meanwhile, the PP in Castile and Leon defended the “vindication and the just cause” of the defense of collective rights. In Burgos and Valladolid, where after 28-M Vox governs with the PP, he did not wave the rainbow banner either, nor did he, continuing with the examples, in the Balearic Parliament and the Valencian Community .
The flag controversy – as a symbol of the vindication of equal rights – is added to the first movements in the PP-Vox coalitions around equality policies – with the disappearance of councilors – and the denial of the violence of gender – in the case of the pact in the Valencian Community -. From the Central Executive, Vice President Nadia Calviño indicated that, “when parties like Vox come to power, the first thing they do is restrict human rights and the rights of women and LGBTI groups “. For her part, Yolanda Díaz pointed out that the multicolored flag is “a symbol of freedom” and removing it is a huge step back that “wants to place the country in black Spain”. The mayor of Barcelona, ??Jaume Collboni, who is a member of the collective, made a call to fight for these rights in the elections.
The appeal to the threat of a return to a “black Spain” was a constant in the ranks of the left formations. And the PP wants to distance itself from the network that Vox weaves, such as in matters of gender equality. Alberto Núñez Feijóo’s party defended Spanish society in its manifesto which “for years has been uniting voices in favor of everyone’s right to be and feel what they want”.
The headquarters of the PP in Madrid did not display the rainbow banner, but it was lit up at night with the colors. A strategy that was also followed by the mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, with the lighting of the facade in Cibeles. The president of the Community, IsabelDíaz Ayuso, has also opted for night lights. It is not the same as hanging the banner in an institutional building.
Without concessions to the interpretation, Vox’s candidate, Santiago Abascal, indicated in statements to RTVE that he had no intention of celebrating Pride Day: “I didn’t plan to because I’m straight – he said -. There are many homosexuals, too, who do not celebrate this day, who do not reduce their being to sexual desire.” Regarding gender-based violence, he said he ignored the Istanbul Convention, which establishes the basis for the fight against gender-based violence.
In this perspective of eventual alliances to the right, we remember the great advances in favor of LGTBI rights that have placed Spain in number 4 in the world. The Equal Marriage Law (2005), the Equality Law (2007) and the Trans Law (2023) have marked the way.
