Hundreds of right-wing supporters protest on Spain's Constitution Day
Rahul Pathak in Spain
Europe;Spain
01:53

 

Hundreds of Spain's far-right Vox supporters gathered in several major cities on Sunday to protest against the government on the day that honors the nation's Constitution Day.

The day commemorates when Spain officially became a democracy post general Franco back on December 6, 1978.

But these days the demonstrations tend to target the central government, led by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, with many often calling for his resignation.

 

"We protest against a socialist government," one protester said. "Most of the people don't agree with the policies they're putting in place – they're just puppets of a bigger global government."

"I came here to protest on Constitution Day because the Pedro Sanchez government is taking away our freedoms," another said. "He's not respecting the Spanish Constitution, he's taking rights and freedoms from us, they try to stop us coming and protesting against their bad government. He's taking our kids' freedom, educational freedom and health – and the economy is a disaster." 

Vox party leader Santiago Abascal, who attended the march in Barcelona, said the constitution "is in danger" while accusing separatist parties and the central government of putting at risk the Magna Carta, which guarantees the rights of individuals, the right to justice and the right to a fair trial.

Many of the supporters were visibly not social distancing, causing major concern for the government that events like this could increase the risk of COVID-19 infection.