Abascal takes his speech on the Urda tragedy to the extreme and lashes out at Ada Colau and the PSOE: "The party with which he wants to govern is the one that has killed those victims"

Santiago Abascal has turned Óscar Puente's departure from the Ministry of Transport into a new attack against Pedro Sánchez and has pointed to the Government as responsible for the deaths in the Urda railway accident. The leader of the far-right Vox has also lashed out at Ada Colau after the Frente Amplio candidate accused him of using the victims as a "weapon".

The appearance, convened as a media briefing in the Plaza Mayor of Ciudad Real, has transformed into a pre-campaign event before hundreds of supporters. There, Abascal has disqualified the appointment of Carlos Cuerpo as Puente's replacement and has insisted on demanding the resignation of the Prime Minister less than a month before the general elections on November 29.

"He is just one more body standing between Pedro Sánchez and the bench, he is just one more fuse for him," he said about the new minister. He then insisted that Sánchez is responsible for the Urda accident and even stated that the president "should not even have appeared as a candidate" in the elections.

The tragedy, in which 69 people died and more than a hundred were injured, is still under judicial and technical investigation. Investigators are trying to clarify what happened before a Renfe AVE hit an Iryo train stopped on the track, after a failure in the signaling system. Criminal responsibilities must be determined in that procedure.

Abascal has also directed his reproaches against those who have acknowledged the step taken by Puente in resigning after his appearance in Congress. "He completely forgot about the victims, who are the ones experiencing the real ordeal, and they are practically trying to canonize him for having resigned," he stated.

Asked about Ada Colau's criticism of the political use of victims, the Vox president responded by directly pointing to the PSOE. "I only have to say that the party with which Ms. Colau wants to govern is the one that has killed those victims," he stated. The accusation escalates the confrontation surrounding a tragedy whose causes are still being investigated.

The ultra leader has left his attendance at the funeral for the victims, scheduled for November 12 in Toledo Cathedral, up in the air. "I don't know where I'll be," he replied, although he assured that Vox would be represented and added that he prefers to respect the families' pain from a secondary position.

Abascal defended, at the same time, the continuity of his electoral activity during the mourning. "We are working and our job is to denounce this Government and to demand justice," he assured, before adding that he would continue to denounce its alleged "crimes."

During the event, he also criticized the Government for the situation of public services, the electricity grid, and roads, and called taxes a "fiscal robbery." He called for a massive mobilization on November 29 to overcome what he described as electoral "traps," without specifying or substantiating that accusation.

Pensions and the program of the far-right Vox

The visit to Ciudad Real left another underlying issue. Asked about pensions, Abascal denied that Vox wants to privatize them and assured that the benefits of current retirees would be paid "in whatever way necessary." He also accused RTVE of manipulating his party's position.

His own documentation forces a clarification of that defense. The economic and housing program that Vox published in 2025 proposes to initiate the capitalization of a public pension fund with private profitability criteria and move towards a mixed system, similar to that of Sweden.

This model would combine capitalization elements with the pay-as-you-go system, in which the contributions of those who work finance current pensions. Vox's proposal represents a profound reform, although its program does not propose to completely eliminate public pensions.

Regarding immigration, Abascal called for the closure of borders and the deportation of foreigners who commit crimes. His party maintains "remigration" among its priorities, along with tax cuts and the repeal of norms it considers ideological.

The president of Vox also claimed his candidacy for La Moncloa. Asked about a possible vice-presidency alongside Alberto Núñez Feijóo, he replied that one would have to ask the PP leader if he would accept being vice-president in a government presided over by Vox.

He has also been asked about the defeat of Donald Trump's Republicans in the United States elections. "I care very little about what happens in other places," he replied before assuring that he was in Ciudad Real, "not in Michigan." The response contrasts with the political relationship that Vox has claimed with Trump and other international far-right leaders.

An incident with an egg throwing marks the rally

The incident occurred during the question and answer session, when a person threw several eggs towards the area where Abascal was located. The objects ended up hitting journalists covering the appearance.

The leader of Vox attributed the throwing to "Pedro Sánchez's militias," an accusation for which he provided no evidence. He then apologized to media professionals for the difficulties in working and for what happened to those who were hit.

The National Police later identified a young man and proposed him for a sanction for an alleged infraction of the Citizen Security Law, according to police sources cited by SER. The Ciudad Real City Council has condemned the events and has also expressed its support for the journalist hit while performing his work.