Spain’s 2019 general election will take place on 28 April. This year, a range of political alternatives have emerged across the ideological spectrum, creating an extremely heated electoral debate. And gender seems to be at the heart of the conversations.
In 2018, a passionate feminist movement was sparked in Spain. It was a reaction to the most high-profile rape case in the country, known as the ‘Manada’ or ‘Wolf Pack’ case. Five men were accused of gang raping an 18-year-old girl. They were sentenced to 9 years in jail for “sexual abuse”, but acquitted of rape. Such a verdict was made possible because the Spanish law requires rape cases to include proof of “resistance” from a victim. In this case, the young woman was deemed to have shown “passive” behaviour.
Public reaction to the ‘Wold Pack’ verdict was unprecedented.
Thousands of (mostly) women stormed the streets of Spain’s main cities. They called on leaders to change the current legislation and reverse a patriarchal justice system. They also offered support to all sexual abuse victims – voicing “yo te creo” (I believe you). However, a ‘macho movement’ has grown in backlash to this feminist renaissance. Spain has heard narratives of victim-blaming, slut-shaming, and excusal of “boys will be boys” behaviour.
Conversations around gender and feminism have dominated Spanish news, TV shows and social media. And now, in the run-up to the elections, gender is being used ruthlessly as a political tool.
Right-wing and extreme-right-wing parties seem to be on a race towards backwardness and misogyny. In a recent electoral debate, one of Partido Popular’s regional leaders – Cayetena Álvarez de Toledo – made a very alarming remark on consent. She stated that during sex, “no one says yes, yes, yes until the end”, and that “silence doesn’t mean no”. Cayetana is well-known for her anti-feminist views. In the past, she has has been vocal about her beliefs that equality was achieved long ago, and that today’s feminism is unrealistic.
Vox, a newly acclaimed far-right party, has gained voters’ favour with straight-up misogynistic discourse. They have repeatedly described feminism as “supremacist”. The party has publicly questioned official data on violence against women, alleging that “many women unjustly report their partners”.
The third party in the conservative game is Ciudadanos. They have become quite popular due to their ‘liberal feminism’. Inés Arrimadas, regional leader for Ciudadanos, has stated that every woman should be free to reclaim equality on her own terms. The issue with liberal feminism is that while it acknowledges gender inequalities, it dramatically fails to see the sexist structures that allow them, in favour of market self-regulatory rules.
In contrast, Spain’s left-wing parties are doing exactly the opposite and intensifying their pro-feminism discourses. The Socialist Workers’ Party has been vocal about gender quotas in the private and public sectors, and fight against the gender wage gap.
In fact, Spain’s current president – Pedro Sánchez – recently became the first world leader to appoint women to almost two-thirds of cabinet positions.
Further along the progressive spectrum, there’s Podemos. Irene Montero, the party’s spokesperson, is a long-term feminist activist. Her gender narrative has intensified with the introduction of gender-neutral language and the proposal of feminism as a subject in school.
Across the political spectrum, gender is receiving huge attention in this year’s Spanish elections.
It’s the guest star at every political rally, sparking both outrage and admiration. And while some still fight to safeguard traditional patriarchal values and try to destabilise feminism, the truth is that gender has never been so high on the political agenda.
Our Spanish sisters must be doing something right.
