The Spanish Socialists have filed a complaint over graffiti at their headquarters in Ávila . Abusive messages were written on the façade; the door was painted with the symbol of the fascist Falange , made up of a yoke and arrows. The writing was discovered on Wednesday, 11 November, during a general strike.
According to reports in the Spanish media, the words “Murderers” and “Traitors” were among those written, alongside the slogan “Come on, Spain”. Another message read “R78culpable”. The newspaper La Razón interprets it as a message against the 1978 constitutional order. It was not initially known when the graffiti was put up or who was responsible. No link to the strike has been established.
The Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party, or PSOE, condemned the incident as an attack on a political organisation and on the principles of democratic coexistence. The provincial organisation’s secretary-general in Ávila, Carlos Montesino, described it as an expression of hatred and intolerance. It was intended to intimidate people who support a legitimate democratic political project.
According to elDiario.es, Montesino said that political disagreements must be possible in a pluralistic democracy. His party would not let the graffiti affect either its work or its political commitment.
Manuel Arribas, the Socialists’ candidate for the Congress of Deputies, also condemned the graffiti. According to a report by La Razón, he warned of the political and social consequences of possible participation in government by the right and the far right. His statements are a political assessment of the incident; they do not establish who was responsible.
The government’s regional office in Ávila said that, apart from the graffiti, the strike had initially begun without any reported incidents in the city or the rest of the province. Strike pickets had been noted in various places. This information relates to the start of the walkout, not its entire course.
Ávila is in the region of Castile and León. The nationwide general strike had been called by major trade unions and other workers’ organisations.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).