At 7:00 p.m., the Pride 2023 demonstration began this Saturday in Madrid, which was announced as the most politicized in history. It is celebrated this year after the growth of Vox in the regional and municipal elections of 28-M, on the eve of a general one and also marked by the previous messages from the main associations of the LGTBI collective and from the parties of the left encouraging them to convert the appointment on a platform to raise their voices against Vox and PP and mobilize the progressive vote ahead of the 23-J polls. Thus the parties of the left have turned to pride and up to seven ministers are going to be present at the march: four from the PSOE, two from Podemos and Yolanda Díaz for Sumar.
The organizers of the demonstration, “in recognition of the coalition government that has approved the state LGTBI Law” have invited three members of the Government to the head banner: Irene Montero, -who finally toured the march in the Podemos float- , Yolanda Díaz and Teresa Ribera. On behalf of the PSOE, in addition to the third vice president and minister for the Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera, are present the Minister of the Presidency, Félix Bolaños, the Minister of Science, Diana Morant, and the Interior Minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska.
“Today we are here to say that not one step back in the conquest of rights. That votes are not exchanged for rights, that shameful pacts are not admissible. That we want a free, open society in which everyone can want and express themselves as they want. That is the true freedom. The conquest of rights and that there is not a single step back in the conquest of rights for all”, assured the vice president, Teresa Ribera, also accompanied by the former minister, and candidate to the mayoralty of Madrid in the last elections of 28-M, Reyes Maroto.
In addition, the vice president has taken advantage of her appearance before the media to throw a dart at Alberto Núñez Feijoo. “The Popular Party generates perplexity in Europe. Today the presidency of Spain in the European Union begins and the truth is that many countries view this step backwards in freedoms and rights with concern,” he said, referring to the investiture pacts signed between the popular and Vox for the investiture pacts in different autonomous communities. The second vice president, Minister of Labor and leader of Sumar, Yolanda Díaz, the only candidate for the presidency of the Government, tours the march and who took advantage of her intervention before the means to attack the PP and Vox. “Today is not just any Pride because the governments of the Popular Party and Vox, of the extreme right in our country, want us to return to the times when there was hatred and a lot of fear,” she said. “To this day,” she continued, accompanied by Carla Antoneli, “the only contribution that the PP has made to Pride has been to include the ultras in their governments and they want us to go back to the past. There are many people today who are restless in Spain. To all these people we send a message of hope because El Orgullo makes us better as a country.” Finally, the still Minister of Labor took the opportunity to ask for the vote for her formation, making a play on words with this holiday and one of the slogans of her electoral campaign: “On July 23, let’s vote with pride.” On behalf of Podemos they attend the Minister for Equality, Irene Montero, and the Minister for Social Rights and the 2030 Agenda, Ione Belarra. “Pride is the heart of our democracy. Today is a day in which we remember the most fundamental of all rights, the right to be who you are and not be discriminated against. Pride is the defeat of hate,” said the head of Equality.
The PP, which has tried in recent days to distance itself from Vox’s discourse -which considers the LGTBI collective a lobby that does not need special protection-, attends the demonstration with a discreet representation led by the Vice Secretary for Social Policy and Demographic Challenge, Carmen Fúnez, and by the Secretary of Culture of the PP and senator, Jaime de los Santos, very active in the defense of LGTBI rights, who has attended all the pride demonstrations and is considered among the most influential gays. From the party they showed their “total and absolute commitment” “to eradicate the LGTBI phobia of Spain”, according to Carmen Fúnez. And regarding the agreements with Vox, he recalled: “We are not going to make any pact with any political party that questions the rights of citizens.”
For his part, De los Santos recalled the words of the party president. “President Alberto Nuñez Feijóo said it a few days ago: the rights of the LGTBI collective for the PP are sacred.” Both, like the rest of the popular entourage, joined the march with the rest of the protesters without any incident. Political news has influenced the call to the point of modifying its motto and the content of its demands in recent days. The entry into various regional parliaments and many town halls of Vox, the controversy over the so-called “hate canvas” deployed and then withdrawn by Abascal’s party in the center of Madrid, and the absence of the rainbow flag in many of the institutions in which Vox has entered, has turned the appointment into a call to defeat the right on 23-J. “For our rights, for our lives and with pride” reads the banner that leads the demonstration in Madrid instead of the “Embracing family diversity: equal rights” initially planned. From the LGTBI movement the possibility that Vox can enter in the national government after 23-J it is seen as a threat to the rights won. It is estimated that around three million LGTBI people will have the right to vote this 23-J. “Let’s go out to the streets to dye them with colors to show those who want to return to black and white that we are many more,” said the organizing entities, the LGTBI State Federation and COGAM, chaired by Uge Sangil and Ronny de la Cruz, respectively.
“It is the first time that we hold the demonstration in the context of an electoral campaign, that we see how our rights are being threatened,” said Ronny de la Cruz. “On 28-J our rights are at stake. It is important that we keep in mind which are the allied political forces and which are not. It is important that we choose correctly and appropriately,” he added.
Uge Sangil, for his part, has called for “a State Pact against hate speech” and has called for “voting with pride” in the next general elections. “It is important that all of society on 23-J also take to the streets.” He has also ruled on the PP’s pacts with Vox: “They want to change our society, removing the Equality Departments and turning them into Family Departments” The security device that monitors the demonstration is made up of 3,726 agents, twice as many as last year and it has specialists from the Hate Crimes group, reports Europa Press. The conveners expect the attendance of one million people, 300,000 more than last year.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
