Some 25,000 people demand Sánchez's resignation over the power outage.

According to data from the Government Delegation, some 25,000 people gathered this Saturday in and around Plaza de Colón in Madrid, organized by the For Constitutional Spain platform, which brings together 129 civic associations, to demand Sánchez's resignation and the immediate calling of elections. Political parties such as the PP and VOX joined the protests.

They are demanding that Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez call elections in light of their disagreement with the latest measures approved by the central government and, above all, the power outage last week.

Among those present was Miguel Tellado, spokesperson for the Popular Party (PP) in the Congress of Deputies, who emphasized that the government is in a "frankly delicate situation because it lacks a parliamentary majority to support its actions, and, therefore, we are facing a failed government."

In statements to the media, Tellado stated that her party shares the objective of the protests "for the resignation of President Pedro Sánchez and the calling of elections." Ana Millán, Deputy Secretary of Organization for the Madrid People's Party (PP), also expressed the same sentiment: "Spain cannot continue in the hands of a government that is unworthy of a country like ours, that fails to solve the problems of the Spanish people, and that, furthermore, systematically attacks Madrid with all its ministers."

Reading of several manifestos

The protest rally began around 12:15 p.m. with the reading of several manifestos in a nearly full Plaza de Colón, with the surrounding area of ​​the adjacent roundabout and nearby Calle Génova also packed with protesters.

"We are in a failed legislature, which we believe is a misguided legislature and one that only responds to the Prime Minister's thirst for power," Tellado said.

Several former politicians also spoke at the event, including former Madrid president Esperanza Aguirre, who accused Sánchez of turning Spain "into the Venezuela of Europe." She added that those present at the demonstration were "those who love Spain, good Spaniards," and accused the president of wanting to return to "civil warism. We cannot allow this," Aguirre stated.

Former Ciudadanos MP and businessman Marcos de Quinto also took the stage, asserting that there is currently increased insecurity on Spanish streets and criticizing the "scorched earth policy" that, he said, the government is implementing within its institutions.

"In Spain, we have a government that doesn't govern, a Congress that doesn't legislate, and pro-independence minorities, extremist minorities who decide what happens in Spain," Tellado continued, adding that "the most obvious example is the collapse of the railway infrastructure earlier this week and also tonight on the railway lines in Andalusia."

VOX sends messages to the PP

"The situation is unsustainable, and that's why we're here today supporting more than 120 Spanish civil society associations, who are calling for Pedro Sánchez's resignation and the immediate calling of elections," he said.

Vox leaders also joined the rally, such as Madrid municipal spokesperson Javier Ortega Smith, who emphasized that "the time has come for Spaniards to realize that it's not a question of acronyms, it's not a question of parties."

In a message directly addressed to the Popular Party, Ortega Smith said that "there's no point in applying a half-measure," but rather "we must overthrow him, remove him from the institutions, because Sánchez is Spain's greatest enemy."

The Government's response

The government's response came from the Minister for Digital Transformation and Public Service, Óscar López, who described the demonstration against Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez as an expression of "the Spain of the past" and asserted that it represents "all those who oppose the country's progress."

Speaking to the press, López highlighted the government's economic achievements, noting that "Spain is breaking records for employment and growth," and contrasted this situation with what he considers to be the "increasingly small and irrelevant" position of the opposition.

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The minister interpreted the demonstration as a rejection of the government's social policies: "Those demonstrating today are against labor reform, against pension increases, against the minimum living wage, and against raising the minimum wage," he stressed.

In response to this protest, he called on Madrid residents to attend a demonstration this Sunday in defense of Europe, arguing that "Europe is threatened by a far-right wave that threatens our values."