Vox Manifesto Seeks Classroom Caps on Immigrant Pupils in Spain
Vox's 115-point manifesto for the Nov. 29 election caps immigrant pupils per class and bars irregular migrants from renting. What else it proposes.
Vox, Spain’s far-right party led by Santiago Abascal, has published an election manifesto of 115 proposals for the Nov. 29 general election. Its hardest measures target foreigners: a “remigration” plan, tighter rules for Spanish nationality, a ban on renting homes for people in an irregular situation and a cap on the number of pupils from other cultures in each classroom, according to the Catalan newspaper Ara.
Ara reports that the party has also softened or dropped several of the positions that drew the most criticism in its 2023 program, including those on Catalan self-government, abortion and euthanasia. The paper links the change to an effort to look more institutional ahead of a possible coalition with the PP (Partido Popular).
What it means for foreign residents
Under the slogan “Not one more”, Vox wants to send back foreigners “who do not contribute or live off public subsidies” and to deport those who commit crimes or try to impose foreign customs. People living in Spain without legal status would lose access to the public health system except in serious emergencies, would lose all aid and social benefits, and would be barred from renting housing.
The manifesto rests on what Vox calls national priority, summed up in the document as “Spaniards first”. The party has already written that principle into its government agreements with the PP in Extremadura, Aragon, Castile and Leon, and Andalusia, Ara notes.
For schools, Vox proposes a maximum number of students per classroom who come from other cultures or do not speak enough Spanish, plus separate leveling classrooms for newcomers.
Sánchez, Morocco and Ceuta
The program opens with Ceuta and with criticism of how the government has handled what Vox calls an “invasion”. It calls for prosecuting Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and his cabinet for treason and crimes against the security of the State. Treason carries between fifteen and twenty years in prison under the Spanish Penal Code. Vox also wants sanctions on Morocco, the suspension of international agreements with it until it “respects the borders”, and militarized borders.
National unity and Catalonia
Vox would bring back the crime of sedition, toughen penalties for offenses and insults against Spain, guarantee schooling in Spanish and outlaw parties or associations that undermine Spain’s unity or territorial integrity.
Even so, the tone on Catalonia is milder than in 2023. Three and a half years ago the party talked of “ending linguistic apartheid” and of suspending autonomy at once. Ara says the shift comes as Vox competes for voters with Aliança Catalana.
Abortion, taxes and housing law
The 2023 program openly promised to repeal the laws allowing abortion and euthanasia. The new one only refers to defending life “from its conception until natural death”. Vox does pledge to repeal what it calls laws that “have criminalized men”, along with the gender laws, the democratic memory law and the housing law.
On money, the manifesto promises a “massive tax cut” without saying how big it would be, and a new tax on remittances, the money people send abroad.
What happens next
Spain votes on Nov. 29. Ara frames the softer wording as preparation for a possible government with the PP, though how many of the 115 proposals would survive coalition talks has not been disclosed.
Source: Ara
