Editing Vox

{{Evil_Organization|image = VOX logo.svg|fullname = Vox|origin = Spain|foundation = 17 December 2014|commanders = [[Santiago Abascal]], Javier Ortega Smith, Jorge Buxadé|goals = Remove all Muslims from Spain<br>Bring back authoritarianism in Spain and strip everyone of their rights (all ongoing) |crimes =[[Xenophobia]]<br>[[Ultranationalism]]<br>[[Authoritarianism]]<br>[[Islamophobia]]<br>[[Homophobia]]<br>[[Transphobia]]<br>[[Misogyny]]<br>[[Cruelty to animals]]<br>[[Anti-Semitism]] (possibly)<br>Opression<br>Attempted [[Ethnic cleansing]] of the Muslim population|type of villain = Delusional Hate Group}}

'''Vox''' is a far-right political party in Spain. Founded in 2013, it is led by party president Santiago Abascal and secretary general Javier Ortega Smith. Vox is identified as right-wing to far-right by academics and mainstream journalists.

The party entered the Spanish parliament for the first time in the April 2019 general election, and became the country's third political force after the November 2019 Spanish general election, in which it secured 3.6 million votes and 52 seats in the Congress of Deputies.

==Background==
===Ideology===
The party sees itself as a more right-wing alternative to the centre-right People's Party, from which it split in 2013. This point of view is shared by some Spanish media,[ while some journalists and academics routinely describe it as a far-right party. Adding to the confusion is the exact understanding of the "far-right" term by different sources. While some of scholars cited below, who qualify Vox as a far-right or radical right party, make a clear fundamental distinction between "far-right", "radical right", and "extreme right", other sources and laymen often treat these terms as equivalent. As a young party, Vox somewhat lacks a well-elaborated ideology basis, and might still be considered as "a party under construction", subject to day-to-day ideology adjustments, further complicating its analysis.

According to the book by Rama, Zanotti, Turnbull-Dugarte, and Santana, Vox is a populist radical right party, in contrast to an extreme right. They view the party to be ideologically radical but not extreme since discursively it does not go against the central tenets of democracy. They write that "however, belonging to the populist radical right family means that the party communicates and advocates for policies that are somewhat at odds with some of the core principles of liberal democracy such as the rule of law, individual liberties or the rights of minorities." According to their analysis the central to Vox's ideology are: (i) a strong anti-immigration stance, and advocation for stricter law and order policies; (ii) a strong defence of the unity of Spain against all who allegedly want to break or undermine it; (iii) an opposition to what it labels as the "progressive dictatorship"; and strong defence of the Catholic religion and traditional moral values.

Carles Ferreira in his analysis comes to the conclusion that Vox is a far-right organization as it fits the characteristics of the radical right party family. He sums up: "Vox's ideology is based on a combination of nationalism and xenophobia (nativism) and an authoritarian view of society, attached to the values of law and order. This authoritarianism, however, represents neither the willingness to establish an autocratic regime nor the use of violence to reach political goals." According to Ferreira, the nationalism, nativism, authoritarianism, and traditionalism are central to Vox's ideology; the neoliberalism is present but not central; the populism is indicated, but not explicit; and there are no antidemocratic views in the party's ideology.

According to Xavier Casals the unifying part of Vox's ideology up to this point is a warlike [[ultranationalism]], that is identified by the party with a palingenetic and biological vision of the country, the so-called España Viva, but also with a Catholic-inspired culture. He says that ideological roots of the party's ultranationalism lie in the incondicionalismo ("unconditionalism"), the nationalist discourse based on the "fear of amputation of the homeland" coined in the 19th century in Colonial Cuba against Cuban separatism and also autonomist concessions (replicated in Catalonia in the 1910s). Casals writes that their specific brand of Spanish nationalism is linked to the unconditional support to the State Security Forces and Corps, and the party's discourse has also revived the myth of the Antiespaña ("Anti-Spain"), an umbrella term created in the 1930s by the domestic ultranationalist forces to designate the (inner) "Enemies of Spain", creating a simplistic España viva/Antiespaña duality that comes handy for the communication in brief messages characteristic of social media. Casals notes regarding the external projection of their discourse that the party has reanimated the concept of "Hispanidad"; party leader Abascal has stated that an immigrant coming from a "brotherly Hispanic-American country" is not comparable to the immigration coming from "Islamic countries".

According to Guillermo Fernández Vázquez, Vox's discourse, which he described as "economically anti-statist and neoliberal" as well as "morally authoritarian", is similar to Jörg Haider's FPÖ or Jean Marie Le Pen's National Front from the 1980s, thus likening the emergence of the party to an archaic stage of current radical right parties, more worried about the need to modernize their image than Vox; the latter's approach to cultural issues would be in line with old school Spanish nationalist parties, restricting the scope of "culture" to "language and tradition".

Internal politics
Vox supports the constitutional monarchy, advocates for the recentralization of Spain by abolishing Spain's autonomous communities, and strongly opposes separatist movements in the country, in particular the Catalan independence movement and Basque nationalism. Fighting the latter one is also a personal question for multiple founding members, including the current president Santiago Abascal, whose family was threatened by the terrorist group ETA during his youth in the Basque country, José Antonio Ortega Lara who was kidnapped by ETA and kept hostage for 532 days and María Teresa López Álvarez whose father survived an assassination attempt by ETA. Vox promotes the illegalization of separatist parties in Spain, e.g. EH Bildu, ERC, etc., and opposes the indulgence of Catalonia independence leaders convicted for the organization of illegal independence referendum of 1 October 2017 (in mid-2021 the indulgence was granted by the Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sánchez in spite of his commitments two years earlier, something that is further disputed by Vox and Cs in the Supreme Court of Spain). The party's centralist discourse incorporates economic arguments, claiming that current structure of autonomous and local governments in Spain are responsible for significant superfluous budget spending.

Vox publicly criticised and opposed the exhumation of [[Francisco Franco]].

Vox calls for recuperation of Spanish sovereignty over Gibraltar,and extra efforts for safeguarding Spanish control of Ceuta and Melilla.
[[File:VOX VALENCIA 9 Octubre 2018 (16) (43389587000).jpg|thumb]]
Social issues
Vox is considered anti-feminist by some, and wants to repeal the gender violence law, which they see as "discriminant against one of the sexes" and replace it with a "family violence law that will afford the same protection to the elderly, men, women and children who suffer from abuse". Left-leaning critics believe Vox undermines the importance of feminist struggle in the advance of liberties of women by means of linking the latter to a culture with "Christian foundations".

Vox opposes the legalization of euthanasia. The party [[Cruelty to animals|supports bullfighting]], which it considers an important element of Spanish culture that should be defended.

Islam
While Vox's platform only espouses proposals against Islamic fundamentalism, the statements in the public sphere by party figures espouse a wider Islamophobia, helping to underpin, according to Casals, their discourse against Maghrebi immigration, the development of a closer bond to Catholicism. The party pleads for the closure of fundamentalist mosques as well as the arrest and expulsion of extremist imams. Vox has openly called for the [[Ethnic cleansing|deportation of tens of thousands of Muslims from Spain]]. In 2019, the party's leader demanded a Reconquista or reconquest of Spain, explicitly referencing a new [[Islamophobia|expulsion of Muslim immigrants from the country]].

LGBT rights
Vox [[Homophobia|opposes same-sex marriage]] while supporting same-sex civil unions. The party has been accused of [[homophobia]] which the party denies. Party leader Santiago Abascal has denied allegations of homophobia, stating in an interview that Vox is in no way a homophobic party and that it merely opposes "LGBT ideology", going on to say that party membership includes many homosexuals, and that he personally has friends that are gay. José María Marco, Spanish essayist, liberal-conservative opinion journalist, and an open gay conservative contested the April 2019 Senate election in Madrid as the candidate from Vox, and also ran second in the party list for the 2019 Madrilenian regional election.

In some discourses, party leaders suggest that their opposition to mass immigration from Islamic countries effectively protects the LGBT community, as homosexuality is largely prosecuted in Islamic cultures, and most immigrants do not alter their attitude upon arrival to Spain.

Vox [[Transphobia|opposes Ley Trans]], developed by Irene Montero and the Ministry of Equality, and approved by Spanish government in June 2021. According to Vox, the law as proposed "attacks the rights of women, children, biology, and common sense".

Vox congratulated the Hungarian parliament for passing legislation that would ban media and educational content which may be seen by underage persons from depicting LGBT individuals or addressing LGBT issues.

Multiple Vox politicians have made allegedly disparaging statements about homosexuals. Thus, Fernando Paz Cristóbal [ca] (ex-leader of Vox in Albacete, who left the party in 2019) told in 2013: "If I had a gay son I would help him, there are therapies to correct such psychology". Francisco Serrano Castro (ex-leader of Vox in Andalusia, who left the party in 2020) tweeted in 2017: "Homosexuals have penises and lesbians have vulvas, and don't be fooled, nobody cares about it". Juan E. Pflüger (director of communications of Vox in 2019) tweeted in 2013: "Why do gays celebrate Saint Valentine day, if their thing is not love, it's just vice".

Arms
Vox has proposed that citizens should be allowed to keep arms at home, and supports the castle doctrine, but does not support the right to carry arms or the free sale of firearms. Current party leaders, Santiago Abascal and Javier Ortega, are both licensed to carry handguns for self-defence due to recurrent threats to their lives for their political activities. Under strict Spanish gun laws, such licenses are rarely granted to civilians, only when authorities consider proven a real high risk of an individual being attacked (about 0.02% of the Spanish population holds such licenses).

Economy
Vox's economic position is often described as economically liberal or neo-liberal. The party defends liberalization of Spanish labour laws, lower taxation, and support for self-employed workers. Some public declarations of party members demonstrate understanding of emerging trends in modern economy; thus, Ivan Espinosa compared to dinosaurs many politicians who approach modern tax affairs the conservative way, willing to subdue to high taxation easily dislocatable cutting edge businesses. At the same time, Vox's discourse includes protectionist ideas for national companies, and criticism of globalization, and large multinational corporations, which can be viewed as anti-liberal.
[[File:Vox Valladolid (02).jpg|thumb]]
The party's economic rhetoric includes elements aimed to attract the working class electorate, traditionally supportive of left-oriented parties, like PSOE. In 2020, Vox declared the launch of its own workers union named Solidaridad(Solidarity, the name reminiscent of numerous historic organizations in Spain, e.g. Solidaridad Española; and other countries, e.g. Polish Solidarity, UK Solidarity, etc.). According to some declarations, the union is just endorsed, but independent from Vox party.[citation needed]

Vox's discourse includes calls to cut inefficient and superfluous government spending. In particular, the costs associated with the administration of autonomous communities and local governments (which also should be downscaled according to the views of the party on internal politics), and "ideological chiringuitos", the party's label for various organizations, recipients of public funds, considered by Vox as just promotors of government agenda.

Immigration
According to the party's platform, and numerous interviews of its leaders, Vox positions itself strongly against illegal immigration, which is a significant contributor to crime in Spain (in 2019, according to INE data, 25% of convicts in Spain were foreign nationals, 16% of convicts were non-European nationals; there is no official statistics on immigration status of foreign convicts). Vox calls for unconditional deportation of illegal immigrants; tightening of Spanish immigration laws; legal and police actions against non-profits (e.g. Proactiva Open Arms) and organized crime facilitating illegal immigration; and the militarization of problematic frontiers. The party emphasizes its support for legal immigration complied with the Spanish law. At the same time, they promote stricter regulation of immigration according to the needs of national economy; with preference for immigration from Hispanic cultures, on the premises of easier integration of such immigrants into Spanish society, compared to immigrants from Islamic countries.

During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Vox supported the accommodation of Ukrainian refugees in Europe. According to Abascal "these are real war refugees, women, children, and elderly people", unlike "young Muslim males of military age invading Europe frontiers with intentions to destabilize and colonize it".

Opponents of Vox describe and criticize the party's position as xenophobic, anti-immigrant and Islamophobic. With especially strong criticism of Vox's harsh position against vulnerable immigrant groups, such as unaccompanied minors, refugees or victims of crime in their country of origin.

The party is critical of multiculturalism and demographic transition, supporting natalist politics and opposing replacement migration.

There are persons of non-European descent among Vox members and supporters. Notable figures of African descent associated with the party include Ignacio Garriga and Bertrand Ndongo.

Environment
The party's discourse about the environment has evolved over time, going from climate change denial to a conservationist approach. However, the party still opposes the mainstream environmental views, labelling them as "Green religion", and as recent as April 2021 voted against the Law for Climate Change and Energy Transition, which was adopted anyway.

Education
Vox promotes the "pin parental" policy: changes in laws aimed to guarantee the rights of parents to control public education of their children, and veto their children from obligatory attendance to classes contradicting values of parents. Party representatives claim that Spanish national and regional authorities abuse the control of the public education system to impose their political and ideological agenda on children.

Foreign policy and international relations
Europe
Since its formation, Vox was close to Matteo Salvini's Lega Nord party in Italy. In March 2021, Salvini said there were no longer any links between the two parties, with Vox growing closer to Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy party instead. A member of the European Conservatives and Reformists, Vox shares group with parties such as Polish Law and Justice, Brothers of Italy, Dutch JA21 or the Sweden Democrats.

Vox holds a Eurosceptic view of the European Union, arguing that Spain should make no sovereignty concessions to the EU, because according to the Constitution of Spain national sovereignty is vested in the Spanish people, from whom emanate the powers of the State. The party's leadership is strongly opposed to the EU becoming a federal superstate and instead argues for a Europe of "strong and sovereign states" that "defends its borders and its Christian roots and opposes multiculturalism and mass immigration." Political science professor Andrés Santana and Lisa Zanotti noted that out of all the parties in Spain, Vox's voters and grassroots activists were the most likely to oppose Spain's membership of the EU.

In July 2021, party leader Abascal signed a statement about Europe's future that opposed the EU's "federalist drift" with Viktor Orbán (Prime Minister of Hungary and president of Fidesz), Marine Le Pen (President of the National Rally), Jarosław Kaczyński (leader of PiS and ex-Prime Minister of Poland), Giorgia Meloni, among others.

Following the beginning of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine Vox took a strong pro-Ukrainian stance, announcing its support to "all measures" to defend Ukraine, including shipments of armaments to Ukraine.

Americas
Vox was supportive of [[Donald Trump]] and his political ideals during his presidency and met with his government in February 2019 to present the Madrid Charter; the document divided political groups in the Americas into the two sides of Western democracies and "criminal" left-wing groups that were "under the umbrella of the Cuban regime". The Madrid Charter called for scholars and the media to adopt and disseminate the ideas of the document. In September 2021, 15 senators and three deputies from the National Action Party of Mexico met Abascal to sign the charter. The charter was primarily signed by Venezuelan opposition members, Cuban dissidents and Fujimorists from Peru, with El País writing that Vox gathered groups of Evangelicals, Catholics, neoconservatives, right-wing populists and individuals "nostalgic for military dictatorships" to sign the document.

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