Far-right Vox battles to keep unionist votes in Catalan election

"Our project is summarized in defending Spain, family, and life," the Spanish far-right Vox party describes itself.

In 2021, Vox entered the Catalan parliament for the first time in its history, winning no less than 11 MPs out of the 135 possible. Back then, their goal was to have a seat in the chamber, and to the surprise of many, including themselves, the party surpassed liberal Ciudadanos, and traditional conservative People's Party.

Ignacio Garriga, their candidate back who repeats on May 12, did not expect such a result. Three years and three months later, the party is now focused on Catalonia and Spain defending itself from perceived attacks against democracy, and their campaign slogan is 'en defensa propia', meaning 'in self defence'.

Vox stands strongly against Catalan independence and favors that many areas are managed by Spain's government rather than leaving it to regional administrations. The party is also against gender equality or using the Catalan language in schools. 

Pro-independence figures "have taken over education to transform Catalan, a language for everybody that enrichens our nation, into a weapon of destruction and confrontation," Ignacio Garriga, leader of the party, said during an election event. 

"It is not normal that they have also used our schools to impose this garbage of gender equality, feminism, and environmentalism ideologies to corrupt our children," he added.

Vox favors investment in large infrastructure projects, but "separatists (pro-independence) parties have always tried to limit any economic investment in Catalonia," Sergio Macián, leader of Vox in Tarragona, said regarding the Hard Rock casino complex project planned to be built in Salou and Vila-Seca, next to PortAventura amusement park.

However, they also propose that if the casino complex has a reduced tax imposition, "business people nearby should also have it."

Vox also favors an airport expansion in Barcelona. After Spain's AENA airport management company's investment plan fell through, the party blamed the pro-independence parties.

"Separatists have, once again, made a fool of themselves. We are managed by some activists that do not know how to govern and are a team of absolute irresponsibles who do not care about Catalonia's future or progress," MP Andrés Bello said in September 2021.

Migration, their main focus

But Vox's main focus is migration. What they claim is "illegal migration is not only a security problem, but also a financial one, as it destroys workplaces and forces Spaniards to earn less," Garriga said.

He added that the party plans to continue working "so Catalonia continues to be Catalonia and does not transform into Algeria or Morocco."

"We want that our women to walk free on the streets, that they feel safe in the metro, can enter their homes without worrying about being raped or assaulted by those scoundrels that, in a lot of the cases, they enter Spain illegally while our politicians make as if they have not seen them," the leader of Vox in Catalonia, Ignacio Garriga, said.

First time in parliament

Vox entered the Catalan parliament for the first time in 2021, and its goal is to continue playing a key role in the chamber. 

They had 11 representatives then, and polls suggest the party will have a similar number of MPs this time.

But last time, it was the second unionist party in the chamber, just after the Socialists, Vox, could lose its predominance against the traditional People's Party. This will be a huge difference compared to the last ballot.