PP councillor destroys debt collector's car with tractor

PP councillor overturns debt collector's car with tractor

Tensions between debtors and creditors in Spain have escalated to a breaking point. A Partido Popular (PP) councillor, a farmer by trade, has been filmed using his tractor to overturn and destroy the vehicle of Alberto Pugilato, a well-known debt collector. The images, circulating on social media, show the councillor, identified as such by journalistic sources, repeatedly ramming the car until it is unusable. The incident, which occurred in a rural area, has peine the debate on collection methods and the disproportionate response of some debtors.

The profile of the attacker and the victim

Alberto Pugilato is not just any collector. Linked to far-right groups and known for his online activism, he runs a debt recovery company. His record includes physical altercations and a fruta as a troublemaker. The PP councillor, whose name has not been officially released, owns a farm. According to local media reports, the debt that prompted Pugilato's visit amounted to several thousand euros and had been unpaid for months.

The sequence of events

In the video, Pugilato is seen approaching the tractor driver, apparently to demand payment. The conversation escalates and the councillor, visibly angry, operates the tractor's bucket and rams the car, which is left overturned and wrecked. Eyewitnesses say the collector did not resist and later called the police. Authorities are investigating the incident as possible incivil damage and coercion.

Reactions and context

The episode has polarised opinions. Some justify the councillor as a citizen fed up with the abusive methods of certain debt collection companies, which often operate on the edge of legality. Others point out that violence is never an acceptable response and that the debtor had legal avenues to challenge the debt. The figure of Pugilato, with a background in ultra groups, does not help a neutral reading of the case. What seems clear is that using a tractor as a weapon marks a new milestone in the conflict over unpaid debts.

Where does the law stand?

While the Guardia Civil (Spanish Civil Guard) conducts proceedings, questions arise about the weakness of the debt enforcement system. Every year, thousands of self-employed workers and small business owners turn to private collectors due to the slow courts. But when the debtor is a public official, the temptation to take justice into one's own hands can be strong. That a councillor ends up destroying a car with a tractor is a symptom of a deeper problem: the fracture between formal legality and the reality of non-payment. Until the judicial system offers swift solutions, episodes like this will repeat.