Alfonso Rueda, president of the Xunta de Galicia and leader of the Partido Popular de Galicia, spoke out on 5 October 2026 in favour of the MP Ana Vázquez to put her back on the Partido Popular lists. He called her behaviour in Congress of Deputies “an unfortunate incident”, but rejected calls for her to step down or be removed from future lists. Calls for her resignation were “nonsense”, Rueda said.
The trigger was an incident on 23 September 2026 in the parliamentary chamber, when Ana Vázquez showed a can of pepper spray. The Speaker of Congress Francina Armengol ruled the container a prohibited item under parliamentary rules and ordered the MP to leave the chamber. The irritant was subsequently released accidentally in a washroom. Several people required medical treatment, and parts of the building were temporarily closed.
The Mesa del Congreso opened on 29 September 2026 a proceeding based on a report by the Letrados, according to which carrying the spray constitutes a breach of the rules. The proceeding could lead to sanctions, including a temporary restriction of parliamentary rights. The outcome remains uncertain.
The Partido Popular leadership criticised the launch of the proceeding. In its view, it was a legal defence spray of the kind many women carried; the counterargument is that special security rules apply to the Congress of Deputies. Against this background, representatives of government and opposition groups outside the Partido Popular welcomed the Mesa del Congreso’s action.
Rueda’s stance signals that the Galician branch of the Partido Popular is not planning any internal party action against Ana Vázquez. He also referred to forthcoming candidate list preparations ahead of the elections set at national level for 29 November, and said that personnel changes between the Xunta de Galicia and the Madrid election lists were possible in principle. Regardless, the disciplinary proceeding in the Congress of Deputies remains decisive for any possible sanctions against the MP.
The debate over parliamentary conduct and MPs’ responsibility is therefore following familiar political lines: the Partido Popular calls it an overreaction, while supporters of strict security rules point to the parliament’s particular need for protection. A decision by the Mesa del Congreso is expected in the coming weeks.
Editor: Phillipe Schmidt-Araguin (Article created with AI assistance).