1699537236 Badenas deputy mayor of Vox in Valencia on the riots

Badenas, deputy mayor of Vox in Valencia, on the riots: “Being a Nazi is not a crime, although I would never be one”

Juan Manuel Badenas, on October 11, when he covered the overt accent of the native name Valencia with a Spanish flag.Juan Manuel Badenas, on October 11, when he covered the overt accent of the native name Valencia with a Spanish flag.

Juan Manuel Badenas, second deputy mayor of Valencia and municipal spokesman for Vox, defended this Thursday the legitimacy of the recent protests in front of the socialist headquarters, but stressed that the violent must be “removed”. During an interview this morning on PlazaPodCast, he was asked what the police should do: Should they not attack the protesters wearing balaclavas and pretending to be Nazis as they try to gain access to the party headquarters compound, as has happened ? on Monday and Tuesday in Madrid? Badenas replied: “[La policía debe] separate people who have a violent attitude. Simply manifesting symbols but not attacking anyone is like wanting to wear a pink or yellow t-shirt. Another thing is my attitude to wearing this shirt.”

“There were Nazis,” the journalist José Forés then told him. “But being a Nazi is not a crime. I would never be one, but because of the right to ideological freedom, everyone should be allowed to be whatever they want. It’s one thing when someone says they’re a Nazi and another when they act like a violent person or a murderer. What is punished is not the thought. “Thoughts don’t commit crimes,” he replied. Faced with the informant’s insistence that Nazi ideology was linked to violence, the professor of civil law, who was rector of the private International University of Valencia (Viu), points out: “We were taught to think non-criminally. “ .” in the right. “If the person behaves violently, he must be removed.” And referring to the request that Santiago Abascal, chairman of Vox, made a few days ago to the agents not to comply with the government’s orders, Badenas reiterated, that there is no higher rule than the constitution that the police can adhere to if they consider the orders to be unlawful.

The Delegate of the Public Prosecutor’s Office for Hate Crimes in Valencia, Susana Gisbert, explains why being a Nazi is not a crime: “Criminal law always punishes behavior, not ways of being or thoughts.” “Another thing is that the person who claims “Being a Nazi, carrying out behaviors and actions that correspond to this ideology, and then it must be analyzed whether these behaviors constitute a crime or not.” Wearing a Nazi flag does not constitute a crime and may vary depending on the laws in force in the respective territory Regulations constitute a breach of regulations. If, in addition to carrying this flag, someone goes around screaming that the Jews must be killed, then that would be a crime,” he says.

With regard to the violent riots in the Madrid protests, Gisbert points out that we need to look at the approach in each of the possible cases. It would be necessary to determine whether the person who carries a Nazi flag and utters hateful insults against socialists does so “out of ideology or out of simple opposition” to a particular decision.

Article 510 of the Criminal Code, updated in July 2022, expressly states on hate crimes: “The following shall be punished with a prison sentence of one to four years and a fine of six to twelve months: a) Anyone who publicly expresses himself directly or indirectly about hatred, hostility, Encourage, promote or incite discrimination or violence against a group, a part of it or against a specific person because of their membership in that group, for racist, anti-Semitic, anti-gypsy or other ideological reasons. , religion or beliefs, family situation, the belonging of its members to an ethnicity, race or nation, their national origin, their gender, their sexual orientation or identity, gender-specific reasons, aporophobia, illness or disability.

The second section of the same article states: “The acts are punishable by a penalty of one to four years in prison and a fine of six to twelve months if in this way a climate of violence, hostility, hatred or favoritism is promoted.” or favors.” Discrimination against the above-mentioned groups.”

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After the interview, the Socialist spokesperson in the Valencia City Council, Sandra Gómez, called on Mayor María José Catalá (PP) to immediately fire Juanma Badenas for apologizing for Nazism and justifying violence against the Socialists. After the interview, Gómez expressed his “indignation” and recalled that Nazism was an “ideology and policy that killed millions of people in Europe and that led us to the worst moment in our history.”

Marxist invention

Badenas joined the Valencia government last month. He even threatened not to support the city council’s budgets if the People’s Party, which governed as a minority, did not open up to Vox’s entry. This Wednesday there was a striking discrepancy between the two government partners. The PP and the opposition of Compromís and PSPV-PSOE, represented in the Consistory’s Finance Commission, voted to call on the Spanish government to declare the Gay Games “as an exceptional public event”, a common mechanism to obtain tax exemptions. Vox voted against it.

And he was against it because these games are “an invention of cultural Marxism, the political left and the defenders of identity politics who want to impose absolutist ideas on our society,” said his spokesman, second deputy mayor and head of the Department of Employment and Training. , Juan Manuel Badenas, in statements from the community group.

The Gay Games are a sporting and cultural event, diverse, inclusive and challenging, open to everyone, which takes place every four years. Since their founding in 1982 by American Olympic pentathlete and doctor Tom Waddell from the USA, they have grown into an international event with the potential to attract large numbers of participants and visitors to the city in which it takes place. Valencia was chosen two years ago as the host city for the next edition in 2026, replacing cities such as Hong Kong, Guadalajara (Mexico), Paris, Cleveland and Cologne. The participation of 13,000 to 15,000 athletes and the presence of about 100,000 visitors is expected, which could have an economic impact close to a hundred million euros, according to estimates by the Valencia City Council, chaired by María José Catalá of the PP, in a coalition ruled with Vox.

Australian athletes during the opening ceremony of the Hong Kong Gay Games on November 4. Australian athletes during the opening ceremony of the Hong Kong Gay Games on November 4. BERTHA WANG (EFE)

The Gay Games are, the council said in a statement, “one of the most important sporting and cultural competitions in the world,” taking place every four years since 1982 and involving athletes and fans around principles such as diversity, participation, inclusion and personal development. Anyone can take part in the games, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation or religion; They are expected to take place in June 2026 and last 10 days. More than 37 sporting and 20 cultural events are planned in the districts and districts of Valencia.

The Gay Games are currently taking place in Hong Kong and Guadalajara, which share the capital. The coronavirus pandemic forced her to change her usual calendar. The previous edition took place in Paris in 2018.

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