The socialist parliamentarian and former mayor of Ponferrada, Olegario Ramón, was attacked Thursday afternoon in the town as he was leaving the socialist headquarters. The attack was carried out by two men who were protesting outside the local PSOE meeting place. The individuals insulted him, pushed him, punched him, and kicked him before being identified by the police. The perpetrators of the violent action belong to far-right groups that regularly gather outside the party headquarters. The PSOE has condemned the incident, while Olegario Ramón had to go to the hospital with minor injuries and then to a police station to file a report.
The incident occurred late in the afternoon when the former mayor, now a member of the opposition, was leaving a meeting of his party towards his car. He was approached by a first person who hurled insults at him before punching him. Then another protester kicked him several times, as seen in a video circulated by the PSOE. Javier Alfonso Cendón, the party’s general secretary in the province of León, spoke with him after the events. “It all happened in about 30 seconds, there were police controlling the gathering, but they quickly went after him, insulting him, kicking him, and punching him,” Cendón explains after speaking with the victim. Both in Ponferrada and in the capital city of León, frequent encounters promoted by the far-right have taken place, even with the presence of Vox officials outside socialist headquarters, without resulting in physical violence until now. According to Cendón, the police arrived immediately and identified the two individuals. The former mayor of Ponferrada went to the local hospital with “injuries to one hand and legs” from the punches and kicks, and then went to a police station to file complaints against his attackers.
The central PSOE has condemned the attack on social media: “The Federal Executive Committee of the PSOE condemns the assault suffered by our colleague Olegario Ramón, President of the El Bierzo Regional Council and former mayor of Ponferrada, by two individuals who were participating in the daily far-right rally outside the PSOE headquarters in Ponferrada.” The Castilla y León section, a coalition of the PP and Vox parties, has joined in defending their colleague and expressing their repudiation. “These acts are nothing but the hatred that the far-right has been spreading in institutions and the media,” the party released on behalf of its regional leader, Luis Tudanca. “They will not silence us because we, Democrats, fight more for coexistence and respect,” Tudanca emphasized. Cendón reaffirms this condemnation and adds that the socialists will push for “motions for Vox to condemn the acts, hate speech encourages these violent demonstrations.”
Additionally, the president of the Junta de Castilla y León, Alfonso Fernández Mañueco, expressed his support for the politician from Ponferrada on X (formerly Twitter): “I want to express my strongest condemnation for this act of violence suffered by Olegario Ramón. I send you all my support and affection.”
