Gómez de Celis recounts his fear after the confrontation with a Vox deputy: "The only thing I was thinking was where the slap was going to come from"

The First Vice President of Congress, Alfonso Rodríguez Gómez de Celis, has starkly described the moment of tension experienced in the chamber after the confrontation with the Vox deputy, José María Sánchez García. "The only thing I was thinking was where the slap was going to come from," he confessed in statements to 'Cadena SER', reflecting the bewilderment at a situation he described as unprecedented in the Chamber.

The incident occurred during a session of the Congress of Deputies, presided over at that moment by Gómez de Celis, when Sánchez García went up to the rostrum and confronted both a lawyer and the vice-president himself. After being called to order on three occasions, the parliamentarian was finally expelled according to the regulations, which prevented him from continuing to participate in the debate and in the votes.

Gómez de Celis expressed his “sadness” over what happened, pointing out that this type of episode is “quite symbolic” of the current political climate. In his opinion, it is not about a generalized polarization, but about “aggressive positions of the far-right” that seek to confront the social majority. In this sense, he drew a historical parallel by recalling that similar situations only evoke serious episodes such as the 23F.

The origin of the conflict was in a protest by the Vox deputy during the intervention of the ERC parliamentarian, Francesc Marc Álvaro, in a debate about historical memory related to the burning of books during Francoism. Vox maintains that its deputy reacted to alleged insults uttered by another ERC member, Jordi Salvador, although these were not recorded by the microphones.

Despite the tension, the vice president of Congress wanted to highlight the support received from different parliamentary groups, including members of the Popular Party in the Bureau of Congress. "That means something important: there are moments in which we all must take a stand," he affirmed, appealing for a joint defense of democratic institutions.

Finally, Gómez de Celis called for maintaining “fraternity, but with firmness” in the face of behaviors he considers out of place in the parliamentary sphere. He also mentioned the support of the other groups, except Vox, and underlined the need to preserve institutional respect in Congress.