Pedro Sánchez accuses Milei, Feijóo and Abascal of being "the same gang" of cuts ahead of the general elections on November 29: "We know you very well"

Pedro Sánchez responded this Wednesday from Burgos to the attacks by Javier Milei and pointed to the Argentine president, the leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, and the leader of the far-right Vox, Santiago Abascal, as representatives of the same project of cuts. "You all form the same gang," he reproached them during a rally in which he promised to continue raising the minimum wage, defended public pensions and appealed to women to win the general elections on November 29.

The President of the Government arrived at the Fórum Evolución amidst music, applause and t-shirts with the slogan "Left-wing pride", one of which he put on before speaking. He was accompanied by the general secretary of the PSOE of Burgos and head of the list for Congress, Esther Peña, and the leader of the socialists of Castilla y León, Carlos Martínez. Before his supporters, Sánchez considered another victory for the left possible. "Next November 29 we are going to take you to the sawmill and we are going to continue governing for four more years," he proclaimed.

The intervention closed a day of confrontation with Milei that had begun with a banner in Ferraz and a video of Sánchez claiming to be "left-wing". Hours later, the Argentine president called him an "unpresentable dictator", "delinquent" and "thief" during his visit to Madrid. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned these attacks, while Milei met with Isabel Díaz Ayuso and held a video call with Abascal in which the Vox leader supported his words against the Spanish president.

Sánchez ironized about Milei's absence of face-to-face meetings with the national leaders of the PP and Vox. "They invited him and now they don't know what to do with him," he said, before alluding to Feijóo "talking about pizzas and flats" and Abascal resorting to a "zoom" from outside Madrid. The first reference pointed to the popular candidate's statement that a receipt for a pizza order can prevent the eviction of an occupied home for years.

More minimum wage versus the Argentine model of cuts

The socialist candidate has made labor policies one of his main responses to Milei. He has committed to new increases in the minimum wage during the years he governs, starting in 2027. "And next year we will raise it again and the next and the next and the next," he stated. The SMI is currently set at 1,221 gross euros per month in 14 payments, compared to 735.90 euros in 2018, a nominal increase of close to 66%.

Sánchez has linked this increase and the labor reform to the evolution of employment, claiming 22.6 million people affiliated with Social Security and more than ten million contributing women. The general figure corresponds to daily records from October. According to official data published on Monday, the system recorded 22,644,485 affiliates on the 15th, while the series that discounts seasonality and the calendar stood at 22,538,571.

Against that balance, the president has placed the deterioration of wages and labor informality in Argentina, which he has estimated at eleven million workers without contributions. He has also reproached Milei for a nearly 40% drop in the minimum wage. This decrease refers to its purchasing power, discounting inflation, while the cited Spanish increase measures the rise in its amount in euros. A report by the Interdisciplinary Institute of Political Economy of the University of Buenos Aires calculated a real loss of 40.5% between November 2023 and July 2026.

The president has also resorted to the International Monetary Fund to defend his management. October forecasts place Spain's growth at 2.5% for 2026, compared to 1.1% for the eurozone and 2.1% for Argentina. Sánchez highlighted the favorable revision for Spain and the reduction of the Argentine forecast to warn of what, in his opinion, a victory for his adversaries would entail. "If your friends Feijóo and Abascal win the elections and govern, they will do to Spain what Milei is unfortunately doing to Argentina," he stated.

Pensions and abortion, at the center of the mobilization

Retirements have occupied another important part of the speech. Sánchez recalled the protests of pensioners who also demanded guarantees for their children and wanted to convey to them a message of confidence in the public system. "I want to send a message of tranquility to today's retirees and tomorrow's retirees," he said, before assuring that pensions and the system that sustains them "enjoy extraordinary health."

The president has defended the revaluation in accordance with the CPI and the recovery of the Reserve Fund, which he has placed at around 20,000 million euros compared to the approximately 5,000 million that his Government found. He has also asked to discuss the income that finances pensions and has called on the right to speak with the president of the CEOE, Antonio Garamendi, and with the unions to promote better wages through collective bargaining.

Regarding equality, Sánchez has reiterated his commitment to enshrine the right to abortion in the Constitution. The proposal has a precedent in the preliminary draft reform of article 43 that the Government began to process in October 2025 to expressly recognize that right and guarantee its provision. The president has accused the right of wanting to cut it and has called on women to mobilize to protect the advances achieved.

"It is with the strength of women that we are going to win and we will govern for another four years," he assured. Sánchez has maintained that cuts in the welfare state especially harm women, due to the structural inequality they endure, and has linked that warning with the defense of public services and the fight against gender violence. His call has insisted on taking that concern to the polls on 29N.

Esther Peña challenges the PP and Carlos Martínez vindicates the rural environment

Before Sánchez, Esther Peña has challenged the popular candidates to debate the future of pensions from the first day of the campaign. "I challenge them to have a debate on the public pension system on the first day of the campaign," she proposed. "Let them say it clearly before putting the ballot in the ballot box," she added, in a speech in which she also vindicated the Government's social measures and demanded quality employment and better connections for Burgos.

The province has a specific weight in the electoral dispute. In 2023, it distributed its four deputies between PP and PSOE, with two for each party, while Vox was left out. Maintaining that second socialist seat or losing it would alter the balance between blocs. Burgos has also been Sánchez's third stop in Castilla y León since the electoral call, after his events in Ponferrada and Valladolid.

Carlos Martínez has focused part of his speech on the difficulties of the rural environment, fires and the lack of opportunities for young people, and has defended the contribution of European funds to municipalities. He has also criticized the limits on aid to cinema for its ideological content, speaking of "the red pen of censorship." Sánchez has seconded that reproach with an allusion to censorship during the dictatorship. "We are playing for the future or the past," the regional leader summarized.

In the final stretch, Sánchez defended that a new progressive victory would have repercussions outside of Spain and evoked Patti Smith, whose music had accompanied the start of the event. "Our victory next November 29 will resonate throughout the world," he affirmed. "It will be an example of inspiration for all progressives in the world because we are going to demonstrate how the far-right can be stopped, defeated, and continue governing for four more years."