Vox's Abascal closes campaign in Sevilla

Santiago Abascal used Vox’s final campaign rally in Seville on May 15 to put immigration at the center of the party’s closing message before Andalusia’s May 17 regional election. The Vox leader appeared with the party’s Andalusian candidate, Manuel Gavira, at an event the party billed as its campaign close in Seville. Vox’s own campaign page said the rally was scheduled for Friday, May 15, at 8 p.m. and framed the election around insecurity linked to what it called “mass immigration.” The Seville event capped a campaign in which Abascal repeatedly targeted Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and the governing Socialist Party while pressing Vox’s demands for tougher migration controls. El País reported that Abascal used the closing rally to attack the regularization of immigrants and to urge voters not to let themselves be “traicionar” by Sánchez and by Juan Manuel Moreno Bonilla, the Popular Party incumbent in Andalusia. (voxespana.es) ### Why did Seville matter for Vox’s final rally? Seville featured prominently in Vox’s closing push because the party had concentrated campaign appearances in the province and used the city as the site of its final event. Vox’s Andalusian election page listed Seville as the location for the campaign close with Abascal and Gavira on May 15. El País reported that Abascal had already campaigned earlier in the race in Dos Hermanas, in the province of Seville, where he accused Sánchez of corruption. (elpais.com) That pattern made Seville a recurring stage for Vox’s message in the final stretch. ### What did Abascal say about immigration? Immigration was one of the clearest themes in Vox’s own campaign material for the Andalusian vote. (voxespana.es) The party’s election page said Andalusia faced insecurity derived from “inmigración masiva,” language Vox used to frame the campaign before the final rally. El País reported that Abascal used the Seville event to denounce the regularization of immigrants. (elpais.com) The newspaper also said his speech tied that argument to broader attacks on both Sánchez and Moreno Bonilla, reflecting Vox’s effort to distinguish itself from both the national government and the regional Popular Party leadership. (voxespana.es) ### Who stood with Abascal at the event? Manuel Gavira, Vox’s candidate for the presidency of the Junta de Andalucía, appeared with Abascal at the closing rally in Seville. Europa Press said Gavira was backed at the end-of-campaign event by the party’s national leader after Abascal had maintained an intense schedule in Andalusia during the campaign. Vox’s campaign page also named both men on the Seville program. (elpais.com) That pairing underscored that the rally was both a national intervention by Abascal and the final regional push for Gavira before voting. ### How hard did Abascal hit his rivals? Abascal directed attacks at both the Socialist government in Madrid and the Popular Party in Andalusia. El País reported that at the Seville rally he called Moreno Bonilla a “chiquilicuatre de San Telmo,” referring to the seat of the Andalusian presidency, and said he would impose national priorities on him if Vox’s votes were needed. (fotos.europapress.es) (voxespana.es) Earlier in the campaign, El País reported that Abascal had called Sánchez “la X de la corrupción” at a rally in Dos Hermanas. Together, those appearances showed a closing strategy aimed at confronting both of the larger parties competing for conservative and protest votes. ### What comes next in Andalusia? Andalusia votes on May 17 in a regional election in which Moreno Bonilla is seeking re-election and Gavira heads Vox’s slate. (elpais.com) Vox’s campaign page described the ballot as the next step after the Seville close, and Abascal’s final appearance came two days before that vote. The result will determine how much leverage Vox has in the next Andalusian parliament and whether Gavira’s campaign, backed repeatedly by Abascal, translates into seats and bargaining power after election day. (elpais.com) That next stage begins once votes are cast on May 17. (fotos.europapress.es) (voxespana.es)