Abascal strikes down Espinosa de los Monteros and expands the purge of the far-right Vox's old guard

Iván Espinosa de los Monteros is now officially out of the ultra party Vox. The former co-founder of the party, general secretary, and parliamentary spokesperson in Congress has confirmed his definitive expulsion with a video published on social media. He has done so without a frontal attack against Santiago Abascal, but with a message sufficient to read the internal moment of the ultra formation. He leaves the party he helped build and leaves an open phrase for the future: “The best is yet to come.”

The departure has not surprised anyone within Vox. The disciplinary file had been open since March, after Espinosa sided with other critics to request an extraordinary congress and a review of the party's direction. That initiative questioned the lack of internal debate, the closing of the organization around Abascal's core, and the loss of plurality in a formation increasingly controlled from above.

In his video, Espinosa looked more to the past than to the current fight. He recalled the party's beginnings, the difficult campaigns, the entry into institutions, and the period when the far-right came to have 52 deputies. “Today I have been formally notified of my expulsion from the party I helped create and grow,” he stated. “I can't say I was surprised, but, truthfully, it made me a little sad.”

The former spokesperson chose a measured farewell. He did not mention Abascal, did not engage in personal reproaches, and placed his message in the realm of ideas. “I am leaving the party I helped found, but I continue to defend the same ideas, I continue to defend freedom, and I continue to defend Spain,” he said before closing with a “goodbye and thank you.”

The old guard is no longer in Vox

Espinosa's expulsion is not an isolated case. It is another chapter in the internal squabbles that the far-right Vox has been dragging since the 2023 general elections, when the party went from 52 to 33 deputies and lost much of the growth expectation it had nurtured for years.

Since then, several recognizable figures from the early Vox have been left out or lost influence. Macarena Olona broke with the leadership after her departure from Andalusia. Javier Ortega Smith, former secretary general and one of the party's historical faces, was expelled after confronting the leadership over his replacement in the Madrid City Council. José Ángel Antelo, former leader in Murcia, was also sidelined after clashing with Bambú. Rocío Monasterio, Espinosa's wife and for years the face of Vox in Madrid, was displaced from the regional presidency in 2024.

The result is evident. The formation that was born with a group of leaders from different right-wing families has been closing ranks around Abascal and profiles more aligned with the current leadership. The names of Jorge Buxadé, Ignacio Garriga, or Pepa Millán now weigh much more in the party's structure than the founders who starred in its first parliamentary stage.

Espinosa had been distancing himself for some time. In 2025, he presented Atenea, a think tank that brought together figures from the right and far-right and was read in Vox as more than just a simple ideas laboratory. Then came the critical manifesto to demand an extraordinary congress. It called for a real debate on the project's direction and a review of the party's internal architecture.

Vox's response has been to close the file. Pepa Millán, spokesperson in Congress, dismissed Espinosa's departure this Thursday as an internal matter. "It was a process carried out by the party's guarantees committee. We have little more to add," she said on RNE. Immediately afterwards, she changed the subject to talk about the alleged risks to the integrity of the upcoming elections, a suspicion that the far-right party has been fueling in recent days.

Espinosa's video also does not clarify whether his next step will be political. His "the best is yet to come" has been read by some of his supporters as more than just a farewell. The deputy mayor of Toledo, Inés Cañizares, linked to Atenea, responded with the same message. Former critical officials have also publicly thanked him for his work and have left the door open for a "see you soon".

Vox tries to reduce everything to a disciplinary file. Espinosa, on the other hand, has turned his departure into another piece of the narrative of the founders expelled, sidelined or uncomfortable within Abascal's party. At Bambú, they have not wanted to dedicate more space to him. The party's official account has not given a political farewell to who was one of its main voices in Congress.