Vox has removed Mazaly Aguilar, one of the few historical leaders still in the party and holding the most important institutional position within the EU as the third vice president of the Agriculture and Rural Development Committee of the European Parliament. Despite being the number two on Vox’s list for the European Parliament in 2019, Aguilar was not included in the top three candidates for the upcoming June 9 European elections. The party’s sources have ruled out the possibility of Aguilar being placed in the fourth or fifth spots on the list, as the three selected candidates are men and electoral law requires at least two of the top five candidates to be women. Additionally, Vox could potentially lose the fourth seat they gained in the European Parliament due to the departure of British parliamentarians post-Brexit.
Aguilar’s exclusion from Vox has not come as a surprise, as she has been increasingly sidelined by the party leadership. She has been ignored in speeches, events, social media, and electoral campaigns, despite her extensive knowledge and experience in agriculture due to her role in the European Parliament. Being a historic leader of Vox, with a membership number of eight, Aguilar was appointed as the Vice President of the party by Alejo Vidal-Quadras and maintained her position until 2020 under Santiago Abascal. However, in June 2021, Aguilar fell out of favor with the party leadership due to disputes over control of parliamentary funds and hiring decisions within the European Parliament.
The disagreement over subsidies and hiring practices within the European Parliament mirrors a similar crisis that occurred within the Vox group in the Murcia Parliament in the previous legislature. While Vox leadership supported Jorge Buxadé in these disagreements, Aguilar, despite maintaining discipline within the ECR group in the European Parliament, was marginalized by the party. Aguilar represents a more liberal faction within Vox, as opposed to the more ultra-Catholic faction led by Buxadé and Kiko Méndez-Monasterio. In the face of several departures from the party, including high-profile figures like Iván Espinosa de los Monteros, Buxadé has emerged as a key figure within the party.
Additionally, Santiago Abascal has recently reintroduced two party members, Rosa Cuervas-Mons and Montserrat Lluís, to the Vox National Executive Committee (CEN), despite their previous disqualification by the party’s Guarantee Committee. The move has sparked criticism within Vox, with some members questioning Abascal’s adherence to the party’s internal rules and processes. The lack of transparency in these decisions, including the lack of input from party affiliates and deviation from election procedures, has raised concerns within the party. Abascal’s actions have led to further divisions and dissent within Vox, highlighting the power struggles and internal conflicts within the party.
