“Que te vote Txapote! Que te vote Txapote!”. Thousands of spectators burst into song to mock Spain’s leader in the country’s Pamplona bullring during the traditional week-long San Fermín celebrations that began on July 6.
The crowd directed the chant – which roughly translates into “Let Txapote vote for you” or “You can count on Txapote’s vote” – at Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. The song links him with Francisco Javier García Gaztelu, also known as “Txapote”, a convicted member of the now-extinct Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) terrorist organisation.
La canción del verano. pic.twitter.com/wSjKa6k4Kd
— Revista Centinela (@RevCentinela) July 7, 2023
The chorus spread outside the bullring into the cobblestone streets of the historic North-Eastern city, where hundreds more gathered in spontaneous parties and improvised outdoor discos. Groups of young men interrupted at least two National Television correspondents in Pamplona who were reporting on the festivities, yelling the slogan into their microphones.
"¡Que te vote Txapote, Sánchez, que te vote Txapote!".
Un joven se cuela en el directo de @La1_tve de los Sanfermines para gritar contra el presidente del Gobierno. pic.twitter.com/BXflLFQJs1
— THE OBJECTIVE (@TheObjective_es) July 7, 2023
🚨 El «¡Que te vote Txapote, Sánchez!» se cuela por cuarta vez en un directo de RTVE en San Fermín
➡️ El cántico contra el presidente del Gobierno no cesa de inundar los directos de TVE está llevando a cabo con motivo de los festejos navarros
📌 https://t.co/v2uxyjD8yJ pic.twitter.com/0yD3vBE25L
— okdiario.com (@okdiario) July 9, 2023
Sánchez has not yet reacted to this widespread popular outburst against him, although it is not the first time he has been on the receiving end of the “que te vote Txapote” chant.
Amid what was already latent political tension, the San Fermín celebrations became ground-zero for a polarised political landscape ahead of the July 23 General Elections.
According to Consuelo Ordóñez, the president of the Collective for the Victims of Terrorism in the Basque Country (Covite), the song “normalises and trivialises terrorism and terrorists, with full knowledge of the pain it causes to victims”. The official Twitter account of Covite added: “Txapote murdered dozens of people. It is painful and outrageous for the families of his victims to hear his name chanted so persistently.”
Txapote was the “military head” of the ETA terrorist organisation, which aimed to secure the Basque Country’s independence through violent means. Spain sentenced him to more than 450 years in prison in 2011 for crimes including the murder of more than 10 politicians from the Popular and Socialist parties. As one of the “hard-liners” of ETA, he has never shown remorse for his actions.
A key opposition member, Isabel Díaz Ayuso of the Popular Party – and the president of the Madrid region – coined the slogan earlier this year. Her intention: to associate Sánchez with Txapote over his parliamentary agreements with EH Bildu, a separatist party in the Basque Country led by Arnaldo Otegui, a former ETA member.
EH Bildu’s abstention in national elections was instrumental in Sánchez’s ascension to the Spanish premiership. Sánchez also received its support to abolish critical provisions from a controversial labour reform and to extend the State of Emergency during the Covid pandemic.
The musical protest has quickly found its way into day-to-day political discourse. More politicians have since adopted the chant and now include it in their rallies.
