“The car of the communist whore.” The graffiti, written with a black marker, stands out against the red color of the private vehicle of Esther Cepedal, a candidate for the Call for Asturias-IU in the Asturian municipality of San Martín del Rey Aurelio, which this Thursday appeared scratched and with the graffiti inscribed on one side. The party has closed ranks around her candidate to show her full support and throughout the day messages of solidarity towards her are happening. The local police are already investigating the facts.
The IU coordinator and candidate for the presidency of the Principality of Asturias, Ovidio Zapico, was one of the first to react, condemning the events, upon learning of the content of the graffiti that was carried out last morning, once the author or authors They identified Esther Cepedal’s vehicle, which was parked on the street.
Ovidio Zapico wrote a tweet early in the morning warning that threats and intimidation “do not fit in our dreams or in the ballot box. On Sunday -due to the electoral appointment of 28-M- we await you with the best weapons: the vote and a smile”.
This type of act goes against the democratic essence in a framework of coexistence
Ovid Zapico
— Convocation candidate for Asturias-IU to the presidency of the Principality
The candidate for the Presidency of the Principality showed his rejection of any type of intimidation of those who defend his political ideas, while calling for mobilization to promote the transformations that the autonomous community needs, but also against intolerance.
“This type of act comes to tarnish a calm electoral campaign”
Zapico censured the attempt to intimidate the head of the San Martín del Rey Aurelio mayor’s list in the face of the appearance of “profane” graffiti and assured that this type of behavior and attitudes does not take place “in a democratic framework, in a of coexistence”.
This is the car @Cepedal_Esther (a big hug) candidate for @United Left in San Martin del Rey Aurelio (Asturias).
Their threats and intimidation do not fit in our dreams or in the ballot box. On Sunday we are waiting for you with the best weapons: the vote and the smile. pic.twitter.com/xe16dXupzN— Ovidio Zapico (@ovizapico) May 25, 2023
The party sent a statement to the press in which it explicitly rejected “this type of act that goes against the democratic essence” and expressly called for “total rejection” to eradicate this behavior that is already described as “fascist” on Twitter.
The organization denounced the graffiti at the Local Police station so that it could raise a crowded report and showed its support for the candidate in a situation that “comes to tarnish an electoral campaign” that until now they describe as “calm.”
In turn, the Secretary for Strategy, Alliance Policy and Relations with the Media, Alejandro Suárez, appealed for the rejection of all Democratic politicians and, by extension, of all of society.
“Unity and rejection are necessary to eradicate this type of behavior. Today it is a graffiti, tomorrow it can be something else to anyone who is in politics, ”she pointed out.
Alejandro Suárez considers that these outbreaks of violence, although they may seem “localized and not generalizable”, are always the beginning of “something much more serious” and advocates a mobilization against this type of attitude “wherever they come from and whoever they address they go”.
www.eldiario.es