Spain What does the watermelon pin that Yolanda Díaz and other left-wing deputies have worn mean?

The majority of the deputies of the Sumar Parliamentary Group exhibited on Wednesday in the first session of the investiture debate of the acting President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, ‘pins’ in the shape of a watermelon in tribute to Palestine, with whose flag said fruit shares colors .

Sources from Izquierda Unida explained that it had been an initiative of this formation, which had distributed the ‘pins’ among all the deputies of the Sumar group and some of other parliamentary groups. On the lapel, in addition to those from IU, the group’s spokesperson, Marta Lois; number 2 for Madrid, the former ambassador to the UN Agustín Santos; and the deputy spokespersons, Aina Vidal and Águeda Micó.

With the watermelon on the lapel of her white suit, Yolanda Díaz took the stand, asking Pedro Sánchez for measures against the Israeli bombing of Gaza. She proposed that he call the Spanish ambassador in Israel for consultations, or suspend the sale of weapons to that country or apply sanctions.

The watermelon pin has also been displayed by the representative of Més for Mallorca, Vicenç Vidal, and that of the Chunta Aragonesista, Jorge Pueyo, but not those of ERC or EH Bildu, sympathizers of the Palestinian cause. Nor those of the PSOE or the rest of the formations represented in Congress. As for Podemos, he has sought a different and more classic way to express his support for the Palestinians.

The use of the watermelon as a symbol alluding to the Palestinian flag began after the Six-Day War of 1967, when displaying the flag was prohibited and the aforementioned fruit began to be used as a symbol.