Xenophobic Rhetoric
Javier Maroto, mayor of Vitoria.
Spanish political parties generally do not resort to hate speech in their mainstream discourse, and during the monitored period there were no overt displays of xenophobia or other forms of hate speech among members of the executive and legislative branches.There is no parliamentary representation of any overtly xenophobic party in Spain. However, some politicians belonging to the then ruling party, the conservative Popular Party (hereafter "PP"), have allowed themselves speeches on the verge of hate speech.
Really, while open hate speech is not universally accepted, "anti-immigrant and anti-Gypsy discourse feeds fears and generates xenophobic and racist sentiments." In particular, some NP members in public office have resorted to language dehumanizing immigrants and refugees, using hate speech directed against immigrants, who have been pitted deliberately against the country's natives.
For example, Javier Maroto, who was mayor of Vitoria (Basque Country), stated publicly on the radio that "Algerians and Moroccans are registered as residents of the city for the sole purpose of demanding social benefits. Similarly, a former mayor from the NP in Badalona, a city close to Barcelona, openly linked Romanian and Roma migrants to crime. He also linked them to poverty, unemployment and insecurity with the arrival of migrants and Islamic terrorism.
In the 2015 election campaign, his party also promised to "clean up" municipalities, meaning cleanse them of immigrants, especially Muslims. According to Plataforma Ciudadana contra la Islamofobia, this Islamophobic rhetoric by politicians has created a climate that allows people to publish messages that "Muslims should be gassed," while referring to the experience of the Nazi death camps. In general, the rhetoric of politicians has created a climate that allows people to publish messages about "gassing Muslims" while referring to the experience of Nazi death camps.
In general, the rhetoric of the nationalist VOX party has become increasingly Islamophobic as the next election approaches. for example, ahead of the 2018 parliamentary elections they demanded that the cities where they ran for mayor be cleansed of Muslims, Roma and refugees.
