Left-wing journalist on VOX: "I would ban it. The problem is that we live in a democracy".

Journalist José María Ledesma wrote on X that he would ban VOX and that the problem is that Spain is a democracy. The remark, spread as a screenshot, mixes a personal opinion with an obvious contradiction: calling for the banning of a legal party in a system that allows him to call for it.

## What he said and why it spread

Journalist **José María Ledesma** posted a brief remark on X: "I would ban it. The problem is that we live in a democracy". The message circulated as a screenshot and became the subject of political discussion. The text does not explicitly mention VOX, but the context of the post and its spread link it to **Santiago Abascal**'s party. Ledesma is a journalist known for his activity on social media and for his editorial line critical of the right.

## The contradiction his critics point out

The most repeated argument is that the remark contains a paradox: whoever calls for banning a legal party relies on the same democratic system that allows that demand to be voiced. In Spain, the **1978** Constitution guarantees freedom of expression in Article 20 and freedom of association in Article 22. The Political Parties Law of **2002** allows banning only through a court ruling and on limited grounds, such as support for violence. None of those grounds apply to VOX for its ideology.

## A recurring debate on both ends

The controversy is not new. In recent years, leaders and commentators of various stripes have called for banning political parties opposed to their line. The difference is that this time the call comes from a journalist and is framed as a personal opinion, not a policy proposal. That does not make it less striking: an information professional calling for the legal exclusion of a party is a gesture his colleagues usually criticize when the adversary does it.

## The economic cost of banning parties

Banning a political party is not free. In Spain, the Political Parties Law requires a judicial procedure with deadlines, evidence and appeals. Such a process can take years and generates administrative and judicial costs. Moreover, comparative experience shows that banning parties tends to reinforce their victim narrative and mobilize their electorate. There are no public figures on the cost of a banning process in Spain, but the precedent of Batasuna, banned in **2003**, took years to resolve and went through the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court.

## A limit the law already draws

Spanish law already distinguishes between expressing opinions and committing a crime. Calling for the banning of a legal party is an opinion, not a crime. Whether it is consistent with the defense of democracy being invoked is another matter. In any case, Ledesma's remark does not change VOX's legal status or open any proceedings. It is a public statement that says more about the person who signed it than about the party it refers to.