Ana Vázquez will once again lead the PP candidacy for Ourense in the general elections on November 29. Alberto Núñez Feijóo's leadership keeps the deputy after she introduced and displayed a can of pepper spray in Congress, in an episode that caused her exit from the chamber, the closure of several dependencies, and medical attention to twelve people.
The Galician PP confirmed her continuity this Tuesday and has vindicated her profile with an express praise. "Courage and bravery to fight for the safety of all Galicians and Spaniards," the party highlighted about who has served as the popular's Interior spokesperson in Congress.
The ratification comes a week after the archiving of the parliamentary file due to the dissolution of the Cortes. The one-week suspension of her rights as a deputy and her economic allowance that had been proposed required a vote by the Plenary, impossible once the elections were called. The procedure ended due to that impediment, without the sanction being approved.
The episode, however, has also reached the courts. A Madrid court opened proceedings on October 15 following a complaint for alleged injuries and requested the corresponding medical reports. This investigation follows a different path from the disciplinary action of Congress.
The pepper spray and the PP's response
The events date back to September 23, during a government control session. Vázquez showed the aerosol while asking the Minister of Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, about security in Ceuta, in the context of the summer border crisis.
The President of Congress, Francina Armengol, ordered her to leave the chamber and deposit the can, considering that she violated the prohibition of carrying weapons included in the Chamber's Regulations. The deputy maintained that the container was "empty."
Subsequently, the PP itself recognized that a party worker had activated the aerosol in a Congress bathroom, after being asked to clean it. According to that explanation, he pressed the mechanism two or three times and released the remaining content. The incident forced the sealing of three restrooms and medical attention to twelve people. It was that worker who activated the spray, according to the version offered by the popular.
Vázquez maintained her defense of what happened and assured that "I will bring it back as many times as necessary". Feijóo also backed her and questioned why she had been forced to leave the plenary hall for a container that the PP presented as empty.
The Board opened the file on September 29 and, when archiving it in October, recorded the seriousness of the events. Now, the popular leadership once again places Vázquez at the head of a candidacy that she already led in 2023. The deputy first arrived at Congress in 2000.
Comesaña, the novelty in Galicia
Vázquez's confirmation is part of the closing of the four heads of the Galician PP list for Congress. Miguel Tellado, general secretary of the party, will head the candidacy for A Coruña, while Francisco Conde will repeat as number one for Lugo.
Conde was vice president of the Xunta and Minister of Economy during Feijóo's time at the head of the Galician Government. His continuity keeps another of the leaders who worked with the current president of the PP in Galicia on the lists.
The main incorporation will be Julio García Comesaña for Pontevedra. The former Minister of Health, who currently holds a secretariat on the Board of the Parliament of Galicia, will head a candidacy that in the 2023 general elections was led by Ana Pastor, retired from active politics since 2024.
The PPdeG has presented the four candidates as the team that will work to make "Galicia the engine of change" that will lead Feijóo to the Presidency of the Government.
