The Congress opens the door to suspending the PP deputy, Ana Vázquez, for bringing a can of pepper spray to the plenary session

The pepper spray can that Ana Belén Vázquez brought to the chamber to denounce insecurity in Ceuta could end up costing her a temporary suspension as a deputy. The Congress Bureau will address next Tuesday the opening of a disciplinary file against the Popular Party parliamentarian for having introduced and displayed the spray during the government control session.

The procedure will be based on article 101 of the Congress Regulations, which contemplates temporary suspension when a deputy carries weapons inside the parliamentary precinct. The sanction can remain a warning or go as far as the temporary withdrawal of her parliamentary status, although Vázquez will be able to present allegations and the final decision will correspond to the Plenary in a secret session.

The scene occurred on Wednesday while the deputy questioned the Minister of Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, about the Ceuta crisis. Vázquez took out the can from her seat and presented it as "basic school material" that, she claimed, many women and minors need to protect themselves in the autonomous city.

The President of Congress, Francina Armengol, ordered her to leave the chamber and hand over the container to the Police, considering that she was displaying a weapon. Vázquez left visibly angry, assured that the can was empty and questioned the decision of the Presidency. The rest of the Popular Group bid her farewell with applause, although Alberto Núñez Feijóo remained seated without joining the gesture.

What happened next ended up turning the political protest into a serious problem for the PP. Vázquez handed the can to a group worker to clean it before showing it to the media. The employee went to a restroom, pressed the container several times and released the gas that was still inside.

Twelve people had to be treated for eye irritation, itching, vomiting or breathing difficulties, several dependencies were sealed off and one of the dining rooms had to discard its food. A civil servant filed a complaint at the Congress police station and another of those affected needed sick leave. The National Police maintains an open investigation independent of the parliamentary file.

The PP spokesperson in Congress, Ester Muñoz, admitted this Friday that manipulating the spray was a mistake. "Bad. It's evident," she acknowledged when explaining that the worker intended to check that there was no content left before the can passed through different hands. Muñoz defended, despite everything, that Vázquez's initial intention was to denounce the insecurity suffered by women and minors in Ceuta.

The official explanation has not quelled the anger within the party. Several parliamentarians describe what happened as a "blunder," reproach Vázquez for having prepared a "performance" to gain traction on social media, and regret that the episode has given the PSOE an exit to shift the focus from the Ceuta crisis and its judicial fronts. Some officials advise her to apologize to close the matter as soon as possible.

Eight legislatures and experience in Interior

The discomfort increases due to Ana Vázquez's extensive career. The Galician leader was first elected deputy in 2000 and has accumulated eight legislatures in Congress, where she currently serves as the Popular Group's Interior spokesperson and national secretary of the area within the party. She was also mayor of Bande, in Ourense.

Vázquez has a degree in Law and joined the Executive Scale of the National Police Corps, although she ultimately continued her political career. This preparation in security matters has weighed especially heavily in the internal criticism. "The aggravating factor is that she is a police officer," a veteran PP leader lamented when assessing the entry of the can and the way it ended up being manipulated.

The action sought to put the Government on the ropes over the situation in Ceuta, but the spray ended up devouring the message. The control session had been prepared by the PP to attack the Executive for its migratory management and for the open corruption cases, while the political conversation in the subsequent hours was completely focused on the cordoned-off areas, the affected people, and the contradictory explanations about whether the can was really empty.

Cuca Gamarra has defended Vázquez and maintains that the controversy is being used to hide the situation in Ceuta. Other popular voices privately admit that the episode proved Armengol right when she ordered the removal of the container. From the PSOE, spokesperson Montse Mínguez has demanded accountability from Feijóo and recalled that Noelia Núñez resigned her seat for falsifying her resume.

The Board will decide on Tuesday whether to formally open the file. Vázquez will then have the opportunity to defend himself before the Chamber, the Committee on the Statute of Deputies will study the case, and the Plenary will secretly decide whether to impose a temporary suspension, while the Police continue investigating the discharge of gas in the bathrooms.