Abascal extends his threat of "remigration" to foreigners who work while hinting at "electoral traps" to mobilize Vox's ultra electorate on 29N

Santiago Abascal has extended this Saturday in Palma his proposal of "remigration" to foreigners who work and comply with the laws if they go through prolonged difficulties. The leader of the far-right Vox has thanked them for their effort, but has added that, if they go through a "bad patch" that lasts, "they must be made to remigrate and be able to build a future in their homeland". His approach also leaves under threat of departure those who have contributed to the country when they need protection.

In the rally held in front of the Cathedral of Mallorca, Abascal has asked for "a large majority" to become president of the Government and has refused to present himself as future vice president of Alberto Núñez Feijóo. "I am running for president, and we will do what the Spanish people say," he affirmed. He has also acknowledged that he is not satisfied with what has been achieved in the autonomies where he governs with the PP, a way of demanding more power against his partner and electoral competitor.

The ultra leader has asked to reach November 29 in "maximum alert" against alleged "electoral traps". "Probably there are traps that we are not detecting," he insinuated, without identifying a specific irregularity in that warning. He has also attributed to the PSOE the violence and intimidation against his acts and has again called Sánchez's Executive a "criminal Government". Generic suspicions about the ballot boxes have accompanied his request for electoral support.

The event in Palma took place without incidents and with a large police presence, after Friday's protests in Mahón. According to 'Europa Press', about 1,500 people gathered, who accessed the esplanade, while Vox raises the attendance to 3,000 in its statement. Abascal has presented his program of "remigration", deregulation and "national priority" as a proposal alien to ideology.

Working and complying with the law does not guarantee staying in the Vox model either

The distinction that Abascal establishes between foreigners who work and those who receive aid breaks down when he addresses the loss of income. His proposal turns a need for social protection into a reason to demand departure. Current legislation recognizes resident foreigners access to Social Security benefits under the same conditions as Spaniards. The minimum vital income requires economic vulnerability and, as a general rule, at least one year of legal and effective residence, with exceptions provided by law.

Labor data shows the dimension of the contribution that his speech downplays. Social Security registered an average of 3,635,979 foreign affiliates in September, 16.2% of the total. In hospitality, the sector to which he directed his announcement about tips, they represent 33.7% of the affiliates of the general regime. These workers contribute to financing the social protection to which Vox wants to restrict their access when they face difficulties.

Abascal has also linked immigration with healthcare waiting lists. "We import patients and export doctors and nurses", he stated. After this statement, he does not provide data that allows attributing these delays to foreign patients. The management of healthcare services corresponds to the autonomous communities, and their care capacity depends on decisions about budgets, staff, and organization that the leader shifts towards the origin of those who need care.

The ultra leader has demanded "fast-track" expulsions for foreigners who commit crimes and the return of unaccompanied minors to their families. He has also used a rental conflict in Vitoria to attack those who receive benefits and has accused housing protesters of being "paid and subsidized". With this, he brings together under the same discourse of suspicion different situations, from crime to poverty, child protection, and social protest.

Tips already paid taxes with Rajoy and pensions need income

Abascal has promised to eliminate the taxation of waiters' tips, denouncing that "the Treasury vampire appears" when they receive that gratuity. "We intend to end the looting of tips," he stated. This tax treatment precedes the Sánchez government. The General Directorate of Taxes already established in a binding consultation on July 8, 2013, during Mariano Rajoy's Executive, that hospitality tips should be declared as employment income in the personal income tax.

Regarding pensions, he has assured that "the only way to maintain the system is to lower taxes and cut ideological political spending". He has promised to pay them "in whatever way is necessary", but the proposals disseminated after the event do not quantify the savings from these cuts nor explain how the decrease in tax revenue would be compensated. His guarantee to pensioners also coexists with a discourse of expulsion aimed at foreign workers who are already contributing to the system.

The combination seeks to dispute the PP's vote among workers and pensioners with fiscal promises, while keeping immigration as the target of discontent. Abascal has called for "great power to make a great transformation", although he has warned that his changes could take more than a year. For housing, health, or income problems, his intervention has offered tax reductions and the departure of foreigners without specifying the cost or results of these measures.

Vox's candidate for Congress for the Balearic Islands, Maribel Cerezo, has proposed unblocking land, reducing bureaucracy, and eliminating the tax burden on first homes. She has placed these measures within "national priority" and has appealed to the difficulties young people face in staying on the islands. "I am going to work my hardest so that our children can stay," she stated.