The Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, called this Thursday for “smart collaboration” among the left to stop the PP and Vox in the upcoming elections. In front of a packed Ateneo theater in Madrid, where he participated in an event under the slogan “Stop the far right,” the minister explained that this collaboration does not have to mean that all forces go “under the same banner,” although he could be in favor of such a union. Puente shared the stage with the president of Facua, Rubén Sánchez; the former Vice President of the Government and former leader of Podemos, Pablo Iglesias; and the political analyst and commentator Sarah Santaolalla.
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Despite Podemos’ opposition in Congress, at this event Puente and Iglesias did not hide a certain harmony in their views. The minister stated that “the democratic problem” in Spain “is that the Transition pact has been broken.” In his opinion, “the left made two fundamental renunciations” during the Transition: “The first was accepting the monarchy and the second was giving up on justice being done.” The right, he explained, also gave up on two things: “A single Spain, through the creation of the autonomous communities, which it has fulfilled, and political power.” “That part of the pact has not been fulfilled” since “the right does not accept any of the electoral results,” concluded the PSOE leader.
Iglesias was somewhat surprised that “someone from the PSOE” pointed out that “the consensuses that made the Transition possible are over.” “The right has not given up economic or media power,” according to the former vice president, despite “losing elections.”
Iglesias also attacked the judges and criticized that the former President of the Government, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, is the first former president in history to be indicted. “Adolfo Suárez has a rape accusation, Felipe González could fly to the ETA leadership.” He lamented that “there has been no judicial investigation” against them nor against José María Aznar for his “war crimes” in Iraq or against Mariano Rajoy for having organized a “mafia scheme of illegal financing.”
Like Iglesias, Santaolalla strongly criticized the judicial system, the security forces, and some journalists: “Some wear a robe, others a badge, and others a microphone giving a coup d’état,” she said. The analyst argued that left-wing people are being convinced “not to be antifascists” by force and through “pseudo-media.” She especially focused on the judges by confessing that, for her, “justice is completely rotten.” “When they acquit your harassers and attackers, you realize how contaminated everything is,” she lamented.
During one of Santaolalla’s last interventions, three people shouted interruptions from the upper floor of the theater. She responded: “Three shitty fascists come to shout. Usually, they are a bunch of insecure people who are funded and organized while earning a huge salary.”
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Last March, Santaolalla and several PSOE senators denounced an assault by the ultra activist Vito Quiles in the Upper Chamber: “Today all limits have been crossed,” she wrote on her X account. The political analyst went to the hospital and the police station after the incident and confessed she could no longer handle the situation. In this case, justice acted in favor of Quiles. A Madrid judge dismissed the case on May 8 after reviewing all the available video material: “The facts do not constitute any criminal offense,” concluded the head of the Court of Instruction number 23 of the capital in an order.
Today I was physically assaulted by Vito Quiles and his thugs. Today all limits have been crossed. Today it is no longer insults, it is blows.
— Sarah Santaolalla. ♀ (@SarahPerezSanta) March 2, 2026
As soon as I leave the hospital I will go to a police station to expand my complaint against this harasser.
I can’t take it anymore. pic.twitter.com/ce5pG8fj3W
But Santaolalla is not the only participant who has reported the agitator. On April 27, the secretary general of Facua filed a complaint against Quiles that was admitted for processing by a judge in Seville.
Stop the far right is an initiative that the association is taking to major cities with figures from politics, culture, and journalism. The first event took place last week in Seville and the next event will take place at the headquarters of Comisiones Obreras in Valencia on June 27, with the participation of the former vice president of the Generalitat Monica Oltra and journalist Miquel Ramos.
