Vox has risen towards becoming Spain’s third strongest political party over the past years. This relatively new populist, far-right party not only adopts similar behaviors to Former U.S president Donald Trump, but also encourages certain movements that are weakening the democratic system in Spain. The popularity of these movements act as powerful factors that increase the probability of the emergence of an authoritarian regime in Spain similar to Franco’s dictatorship in the late 30’s.
To this day, the legacy of Dictator Francisco Franco remains a crucial aspect of Spanish politics. Following Franco’s death in 1979, the country has long been considered to be reluctant to far-right populism that has become increasingly prominent across European countries. Moreover, scholar Omar Encarnación writes in The Spanish Exception, “Franco’s penchant for demagoguery, hyper-nationalism, and xenophobia makes any Spanish politician who even gestures toward these themes unacceptable to most voters.” However, with the rise of the Vox party, Spain’s resistance towards far-right politics has rapidly declined over the past years.
During the 2019 general elections, Vox became the third largest party in Spanish politics. It is no secret that Vox belongs to the radical right with nationalism being the driving force behind its campaign. In the economic spectrum, the party adopts a conservative agenda that promotes liberalism, reduced state intervention and cutbacks to social welfare. As mentioned, nativism is the main ideology of Vox, and as a consequence, creates problematic policies that can threaten the nation’s democracy. Their movement advocates for a zero tolerance policy for Catalan separatism, scorns for gender equality and embraces both the “Reconquista” of medieval Spain and the legacy of Francisco Franco’s dictatorship.
This past October, Vox party leader Santiago Abascal, spoke to supporters during a rally in Madrid, Spain. In the rally, former US President Donald Trump established his support to this far-right party in a video in which he showed gratitude towards Santiago Abascal for the “great job” they do. He continues: “We have to make sure that we protect our borders and do lots of very good conservative things,” “Spain is a great country and we want to keep it a great country. So congratulations to Vox for so many great messages you get out to the people of Spain and the people of the world.”
Vox anti-immigrant, and homophobic attitudes threatens Spanish democracy and creates polarization amongst its citizens. Vox serves as a clear example of how a far-right political party drives affective polarization and threatens democratic unity. Overall, the party portrays itself as the sole protector of ordinary Spanish people’s interest with the promise of “making Spain great again.” Vox’s use of language is a combination of traditional reactionary tropes from Spanish National Catholicism with contemporary Trumpian elements with the use of phrases such as “Make Spain Great Again” or “Spain First” which make an indirect reference to making Spain go back to a regime similar or equal to Franco’s dictatorship (Rama et al, 2020).
Just like Trump, Vox is a real threat to the democratic system. An inevitable sign of democratic erosion is found when a politician or political party encourages violence, denies the legitimacy of opponents, and rejects the democratic rules of the game. In this context, for example, Vox has provoked confrontations by dehumanizing the rival, who are seen as enemies and a threat to the country’s well-being. Moreover, party leaders have manipulated data to exacerbate the hatred against minorities and migrants. This far-right party is part of the international wave that is creating extreme polarization that feeds social networks and spreads disinformation for the purpose of weakening the democratic system.The realization of this wave of democratic erosion is a good start for citizens to speak up for their rights and liberties. In such times, it is important for citizens to participate in elections, to inform themselves of the emergence of new policies that could impact their human rights and thus quality of life. Most importantly, citizens should pay attention to the quality and source of information they are receiving as social media can easily manipulate one’s point of view.
Divita, David. “Radical-Right Populism in Spain and the Strategy of Chronopolitics: Language in Society.” Cambridge Core, Cambridge University Press, 20 May 2022, https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/language-in-society/article/radicalright-populism-in-spain-and-the-strategy-of-chronopolitics/36C64A0DC2F0CF1D7A700FF957C9D599.
Rama, Jose, et al. “Who Are Vox, and Who Are Their Voters?” EUROPP, 6 Aug. 2020, https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2020/07/30/who-are-vox-and-who-are-their-voters/.
Santana, Andrés. “The Radical Right Populist Vox and the End of Spain’s Exceptionalism.” The Loop, 18 June 2021, https://theloop.ecpr.eu/the-radical-right-populist-vox-and-the-end-of-spains-exceptionalism/.
I thought this article was very well written. Your use of drawing parallels between Donald Trump and his campaigns and the Vox party shows how Spain could be moving in a very dangerous direction politically. In this post, it is pointed out that the Vox party questions the legitimacy of their elections, which is very similar to what Trump and his colleagues did in the 2020 election in the United States. Spain and Europe in general are very diverse areas with many different cultures surrounding them, and the Vox party promoting nativism can only lead to tensions rising between Spain and other countries. It also seems recently as if leaders such as Satiago Abascal and some others around the world, are now looking for Trump’s approval in their campaigns in hopes that they will be associated as the “Trump” of their country.
I also found that connection to Trump really interesting. Many authoritarians have increasingly used democratic rhetoric to legitimize themselves, as outright authoritarianism is rejected in most places (especially Spain, it seems). It seems that Trump has provided legitimacy for stealth authoritarians as they can now get endorsed by the ‘leader of the free world’ which gives them the credibility needed to make claims that their policies are actually protecting the nation. Once these groups don’t seem like fringe groups it is a lot harder to entirely ignore them, as this article says Spain has historically tried to do, without just fueling their claims that the ‘establishment’ is corrupt and out to get them.
Your comparison between Vox and Trump is a compelling analysis of the capabilities of far right movements to use populism in order to advance the polarization between themselves and opponents. Trump’s ability to alienate groups of individuals and direct the negative intentions of his supporters onto these groups, as well as incite acts of hate or violence was one of the former president’s most effective political strategies. It seems as though Vox will head down the same path, and the anti LGBTQ+ sentiments this party endorses should be a real concern for human rights activists in the country. We have seen the translation of political rallying into homophobia and transphobia in cases like shootings at gay night life venues or the targeting of trans youth healthcare access in the United States. Your analysis of Vox’s current trajectory spells out trouble for the future of minority groups in the country if the political party is able to gain as much influence and exert as much power as we saw in the era of Trump and the far right.
This is a really great article, and I think the comparison of Vox and the rhetoric of former President Trump is a really useful one. Both pose threats to democratic institutions and utilize a lot of the same tactics to gain power and stir fear. I can also say that having lived in Madrid for a semester, there are absolutely still many people who sympathize with the Franco regime. I was shocked by the sheer number of Spaniards, especially young ones, who wanted to take Spain back to the days of his dictatorship. Or, to “make Spain great again,” as Vox puts it.
Your article was fascinating. I think the rise of Vox should have more attention given to it. Like the Franco regime of the past, the Vox party’s radical right nationalistic positions and popularity have grown quietly within Spain. The adoption of Trumpist rhetoric is of the utmost concern as these tactics have not only been successful within the US but have also succeeded in Italy. What are institutional barriers in place to prevent the far-right from eroding democracy if given a chance?