Organizers said some 700,000 people attended.
The demonstrators waved Spanish flags and chanted “Sanchez, resign!” or “traitor!” as they denounced the government.
Vox leader Santiago Abascal told the crowd the government had “trampled the constitution by locking up Spaniards,” in reference to COVID lockdowns, which were initially among the harshest in the world.
Speaking to reporters, Abascal denounced “the worst government in history” that “has divided Spaniards and freed rapists and coup leaders.”
Lacking a parliamentary majority, Sanchez has been forced to negotiate with Catalan and Basque separatists to pass bills.
The right was angered by the government’s decision to abolish the crime of sedition, of which nine separatist leaders were convicted over their role in the Catalonia region’s failed independence bid in 2017.
In June 2021, Sanchez’s government pardoned the nine “in the spirit of dialogue.”
Conservatives accuse Sanchez of having changed the law to ensure the continued support of the Catalan pro-independence party ERC in tight parliamentary votes.
The government argues that sedition is an antiquated offense that needed to replacing with one better aligned with European norms.
Spain: Thousands stage anti-government protest in Madrid – DW – 01/21/2023
Spain: Thousands stage anti-government protest in Madrid – DW – 01/21/2023
Ericson Report 