President compares Vox with nazis and far-right MP replies 'Son of a bitch'

The Catalan president, Pere Aragonès, has compared the far-right Vox party with German nazis, Italian fascists, and Spanish dictator Francisco Franco supporters in Parliament on Wednesday.

After Aragonès’ speech, Vox MP Antonio Gallego shouted "son of a bitch," as several members of the Parliament noted and speaker Laura Borràs confirmed. 

The far-right is "attacking democratic institutions to impose their social model," Aragonès said, adding that "this is what the Italian fascists, German nazis and even Spanish Francoists and the far-right did in the 1930s." 

"Some MPs have told us that after the Catalan president answered Vox MP Ignacio Garriga, they heard an unacceptable curse word directed towards Pere Aragonès," speaker Borràs said. 

After saying this, Gallego later apologized and added that "it is not normal that in every chamber session the Catalan president compares Vox to the nazis." 

Vox, a new party in Parliament

The far-right entered the Catalan parliament for the first time on February 14, 2021 with Vox gaining 11 seats and 7.69% of the vote.

Ultranationalist, Eurosceptic, economically liberal, and anti-immigration, the party was born from a schism in the traditional conservative People's Party (PP).

Cordon sanitaire against Vox

After the 2021 election, the majority of parties in the Catalan parliament signed a cordon sanitaire against Vox, an agreement to refuse to work or cooperate with the far-right party. 

The Socialists, ERC, JxCat, CatECP, and CUP had all put their names to the “antifascist agreement” made up of ten points.

In total, the five parties make up 115 of the 135 seats in the Catalan chamber. 

The document was aimed at combating “hate speech, defending human rights, and countering false information that could lead to discrimination and human rights violations.”