IU reports Vox billboards in El Ejido for hate speech

IU reports Vox billboards in El Ejido for possible hate speech

The Almería municipality of El Ejido is back in the headlines due to a Vox advertising campaign that IU considers crosses the line into illegitimate discourse. The party has filed complaints with the Public Prosecutor's Office, the Spanish Observatory on Racism and Xenophobia, and the Government Sub-delegation, among other bodies, regarding two billboards antiestéticaturing a woman in a burqa alongside messages that, according to IU, pejoratively associate the Muslim community with a negative social model. Local IU coordinator Enrique Usoz voiced the accusation: "This is not legitimate political criticism, but a message that stigmatizes people based on their racial and religious origin."

The controversy is not new in El Ejido. The organization recalled the riots that occurred 25 years ago, marked by racial tensions that, in its view, deeply scarred the community. "El Ejido cannot go back 25 years," Usoz warned, also denouncing that one of the billboards, initially covered after pressure from civil society and various political groups, has been displayed again. "This not only shows a lack of respect for social commitments, but reopens wounds we thought had healed," he stated.

What exactly does IU's complaint say?

IU has referred the facts to the Public Prosecutor's Office, the Spanish Observatory on Racism and Xenophobia, the Government Sub-delegation, the Andalusian Service for Attention to Crime Victims (SAVA), the El Ejido City Council, and the platform Action Against Hate (ACO). The party believes the content of the billboards could constitute a crime of incitement to hatred and demands action in accordance with current legislation, "appealing to respect for fundamental rights and non-discrimination."

IU's central argument is that the image of the woman in a burqa, accompanied by messages not detailed in the press release, does not constitute legitimate political criticism, but a message that stigmatizes a group based on their racial and religious origin. The party reiterated its commitment to a migration policy "based on respect and justice," and defended that "we are all equal and unique at the same time."

The precedent from 25 years ago that IU wants to avoid repeating

The reference to the riots from 25 years ago is no coincidence. El Ejido was the scene of serious racial tensions that marked the community and which IU believes must not be repeated. "We cannot allow hatred to return to our streets," Usoz concluded, inviting citizens to "reflect, look beyond antiestéticar, and embrace plurality as wealth."

The party maintains that El Ejido "has pogre in coexistence and pluralism" and that these speeches represent "a dangerous regression." The resumption of displaying one of the billboards, after both were initially covered, is for IU a sign that social commitments are not being respected.

Reactions: from 'going back 80 years' to 'brilliant marketing'

IU's complaint has sparked an intense debate where positions quickly polarized. Some participants responded ironically to the warning of "not going back 25 years," proposing alternative scenarios: "We don't have to go back 25 years, we have to go back 80 and win the war," wrote one user. Another pointed out that, according to IU, "we should go back about 800 years, when the Moors dominated the peninsula."

The controversy also shifted to the nature of the hate crime itself. Several messages questioned the legal classification: "Hate crime against whom or what? Against burqas?" asked one user. In the same vein, another participant argued that it "cannot be racist because you can't see who is under the burqa," that "Sarracin is not a race," and that it "cannot be sens because it is women vs. women." These interventions reflect a trend of opinion that considers IU's complaint more of a political "casito" strategy than a real concern for fundamental rights.

Political background: From Julio Anguita to the 'sunk left'

The debate also turned to IU's own identity. Several messages evoked the figure of Julio Anguita, the party's founder, to contrast him with the current leadership. "Julio Anguita, someone you might agree with or not, but he was polite, coherent, and lived as he preached," wrote one user. "You felt like voting for him," they added, recalling his famous phrase: "Program, program, program."

Others were harsher: "I had even forgotten that Sunk Left existed," noted one participant, describing the party's messages as "propaganda for the mentally retarded who vote for them." The discussion also touched on alleged child trafficking linked to IU, although without providing concrete data beyond the 2016 arrest of an advisor in Galicia for child prono, a case in which the party suspended his membership.

Is this campaign just a marketing exercise?

Beyond the complaint, some messages coincided in pointing out the strategic nature of Vox's campaign. "No one comments that this marketing campaign is really BRILLIANT," wrote one participant, giving "my kudos to the brain behind it." In the same line, another proposed a variation of the poster: "If I were Vox, I would change the slogan on the poster. It would be interesting to see IU's linguistic contortions."

The idea that the poster is "objectively feminist" also appeared in the debate, reflecting the cultural battle over the interpretation of symbols. For some, the image of the woman in a burqa is nothing more than "a happy woman and a rag with an apparent human shape," while others defended that "hatred is forcing women to dress like a Nazgûl."

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IU's complaint continues its course through the bodies to which it has been submitted, while the billboard remains displayed in El Ejido. The question left hanging is whether justice will see incitement to hatred where part of public opinion sees just another advertising campaign.