Simon Hunter
THE former mayor of Ponferrada and current Socialist Party (PSOE) spokesperson in the northwestern Spanish city, Olegario Ramon, was violently attacked on Thursday by a protestor who is reportedly linked to the far-right Vox party.
A video of the incident that was shared by the Socialists on X (formerly Twitter) shows the attacker kicking Ramon, 53, as he left his party headquarters in the city, which is located in Leon province.
“What happened was that I was leaving a meeting at the headquarters, when a man with a megaphone seriously insulted me and seriously threatened me,” the politician told the Cadena SER radio network.
“I took out my cellphone to record these insults and threats and at that moment another gentleman arrived and directly, without a word, attacked me, punched me, kicked me several times and said some really outrageous things to me,” he continued.
Ramon reported the incident to the police, according to his account, and explained that he had suffered injuries to his leg from the man’s kicks.
The Socialist politician added that he did not know the people who were protesting with Spanish flags outside the building, but that they had links to Vox.
“These people are close to Vox, to the far right. They protest every day,” he explained. “It is not a large group but they do it every day. Their messages are always against the Socialists and [Prime Minister] Pedro Sanchez. When we go out we suffer insults and threats.”
Ramon also lamented the atmosphere of political tensions that he claimed were being stoked by the opposition in Spain’s lower house of parliament, the Congress of Deputies, and sectors of the media.
“I’m genuinely concerned,” he said. “I have three children and I think a lot about the future that we are going to leave to the coming generations, by sowing so much hatred and division.”
The current mayor of Ponferrada, Marco Morala of the conservative Partido Popular (PP), condemned the incident.
“I send all of my support, without any doubt, to Olegario Ramon,” he said, in comments reported by Cadena SER. “I wish him a speedy recovery from the injuries he sustained.”
The Policia Nacional and the subdelegation of the central government in Ponferrada will now investigate the attack, and have already identified the protestors who were present when it happened.
