Commenting on the rise of the radical right ahead of Sunday’s general election, Podemos MP Pablo Echenique told the Financial Times that the female vote “was one of the few things that can save this country.” Though the conservative Partido Popular (PP) lost over half its seats, the election also saw a far-right party enter parliament for the first time since Spain’s late-1970s transition to democracy.

Securing 10 percent in the April 28 contest, the Franco-nostalgist Vox represents a beacon for reactionary forces internationally. This especially owes to its misogynist agenda. Not only is it supported by Steve Bannon and far-right Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, but it was recently  uncovered that it is funded by a US super PAC with links to a network of ultra-conservative, anti-feminist groups active across multiple continents.

These reactionary forces see Spain’s feminist movement as a particularly powerful enemy. 2018’s International Women’s Day mobilizations saw record turnout of between five and six million demonstrators, also leading to an impressive mobilization on this year’s March 8.  At the same time, events such as the notorious “Wolfpack” rape trial have connected the clash between feminists and the far right to a wider polarization.