Guardiola fires adviser who vowed to destroy Vox

Guardiola backs down and fires adviser who sought to end Vox

The adviser accused of an obsession with destroying Vox worked for the PP candidate in Extremadura, a region where she needs Vox votes to govern. This paradox underpins the entire episode. Audio clips attributed to Santiago Martínez Vares, María Guardiola’s adviser, in which he states that his “obsession is to end Vox” and threatens Santiago Abascal and journalists, have circulated on social media, leading to the announcement of his dismissal.

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What the audios say and how the PP responds

The viral content antiestéticatures a recording in which the adviser declares that his obsession is to end Vox. The news then escalates: María Guardiola will fire her adviser trinc threats against Abascal and journalists attributed to him. The announcement arrived as a journalistic exclusive before any official confirmation was issued.

Throughout the day, the adviser himself released a statement. Press reaction was openly mocking, with some ridiculing the text directly. This is the typical pattern when a crisis is managed via press releases rather than verifiable actions.

It is crucial to separate fact from narrative. The audios are circulating, the dismissal is announced, and the threats are attributed. None of these elements have a formal resolution settling the matter, leaving a gap filled by public discourse for days.

Who is Santiago Martínez Vares, the named adviser?

The name appearing in the recordings is not unknown in politics. He is described as the PP campaign director and a regular commentator on Ferreras’s program at La Sens, according to repeated references. A profile combining electoral advising with televised opinion, a formula becoming less exceptional.

One widely circulated version goes further, placing his family at the institutional core: it claims his father was one of the judges selected by the PP for the Constitutional Court. This narrative spreads as proof of the intertwining between justice, party, and media, though the material provides no supporting documents. It is asserted, not proven.

There is another angle. According to accusations spread on social media, the PP allegedly called Mauricio Casals to prevent Vox from appearing on “El Hormiguero” and other spaces in exchange for future rewards. This circulates as a tweet, without independent verification.

Who leaked the audio and why?

Here things get interesting. Some analysis suggests the leak is friendly fire: that the recording came from within the Extremadura PP itself, not from outside. Another version, defended with equal conviction, claims the adviser personally sent the audio to a Vox councilor. Both explanations fit the outcome: the adviser is burned, and the candidate is damaged.

A precedent reappears: an earlier audio in which Guardiola stated she would have no problem working with Bildu. That episode was also read as an internal attack. If Génova (the PP headquarters) pressures for an understanding with Vox and the candidate resists, leaks become the most effective tool to force a shift.

The standoff with Vox: demanding the candidate’s withdrawal

Vox holds the upper hand, summarizes part of the conversation. The maximalist demand claimed against Abascal is that he force the candidate’s withdrawal, arguing her words insulted millions of citizens. The counter-argument notes that Abascal tends to moderate demands when the PP offers a gesture, and firing the adviser could be seen as such.

What nobody disputes is the calculation. Vox is the only possible partner for the Extremadura PP, and the PP is the only possible government without repeating elections. Any move by one conditions the other, narrowing both sides’ margins daily.

The cost for Feijóo a month before the general election

The episode erupts a month before the general election, analysts emphasize. The timing couldn’t be worse: the PP just won municipal elections comfortably, and this internal spectacle arrives exactly when they should capitalize on the result.

The most repeated criticism compares them to their adversary. Arguments state that the PSOE disciplines its members while here everyone acts independently. Instead, the PP spends the week fighting its only potential ally. Playing with fire, summarizes one assessment.

Is the PP Guardiola or Ayuso?

The underlying question is uncomfortable. One current argues that María Guardiola is not an exception but the essence of the party, and that profiles like Ayuso are isolated flashes, not the norm. The PP of Feijóo, Casado, Soraya. What happens, adds the argument, is that now there is a right-wing alternative to vote for, whereas before there wasn’t.

Opposing this is a purely electoral diagnosis: the PP has red alarms regarding Vox. The biggest concern is that Vox starts winning mayoralties in small towns, where voters aren’t on social media and vote based on what they see. If that happens, the party loses its base. The aligned media environment doesn’t help either: from one key outlet for right-wing voters, calls for his head are direct.

The disorienting fact remains. The party that wanted to end Vox is the one needing its votes to govern Extremadura. Will Vox sit down to negotiate with someone who said his obsession was to destroy them?