By Alyssa Mcmurtry
OVIEDO, Spain (AA) - The Spanish capital of Madrid saw a second night of rioting Tuesday as right-wing protests against potential amnesty for Catalan politicians descended into clashes with police and vandalism.
Government figures suggest that around 7,000 people turned up in front of the Socialist Party’s headquarters and marched around downtown Madrid.
One of them was the spokesperson for the far-right Vox party, Pepa Millan, who said her fellow patriots showed up to tell Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez “that he and his friends will not steal our nation.”
Millan vowed that the protest would be peaceful, but violence later broke out when protestors began hurling objects at police and trying to break through police barricades. One group set a large garbage container on fire.
Video footage also shows protestors singing Spain’s former fascist national anthem, making fascist salutes and yelling “Viva Franco!” in praise of the country’s former dictator, Francisco Franco.
On Monday, a similar scene played out in Madrid, with police firing tear gas and rubber bullets at rioters.
The Vox party on Tuesday called it “a permanent mobilization” against “Pedro Sanchez’s plans for a coup.”
In cities across Spain, local Socialist Party headquarters were closed early on Tuesday, as similar protests were planned nationwide.
The Socialist Party needs the support of the Catalan separatists to form a government. High-level negotiations about granting amnesty to Catalan politicians and activists charged with crimes related to the region’s independence push are still ongoing.