Vox in the Mirror of the Spanish Radical Right

Abstract

Spain had been considered the exception to the rise of the far-right ideology. Despite the Great Recession of 2008, the political mistrust between citizens, and the increase in immigration, there was no significant populist radical right force comparable to the European populist radical right parties. Notwithstanding, after the 2019 Spanish general elections, Vox has become the third political force in the Congress of Deputies. Due to its recent political victory, a topic of debate revolves around Vox’s ideology. Through the analysis of Vox’s electoral programs, and the study of its linguist and rhetoric, this paper will establish if Vox is the new representative of the populist radical right in Spain. Although Franco’s dictatorship was established over 30 years, neither extreme nor radical right parties have obtained more than one percent of the vote since 1979. What factors have influenced the decline of the far-right? Moreover, how this decline has affected the development of Vox’s ideology? These questions will be answered throughout the thesis, finally linking the overuse of Francoist’s dogmas by the extreme right forces, and the lack of modernization by the radical right parties, with the downfall of Spanish far-right. Finally, the thesis will establish how this situation has shaped the development of Vox’s identity.