Overview

• Vox’s Committee of Guarantees confirmed on August 4 that Sonia Lalanda was expelled for her public criticism of the party’s national leadership and strategy.
• Lalanda now serves as a non-affiliated councillor in Palencia, leaving Eduardo Polo as Vox’s only local representative under an ongoing disciplinary review.
• Her ouster follows the August 1 expulsion of retired general Antonio Budiño and adds to at least five departures that have fractured Vox’s Castilla y León branch.
• Internal critics have accused Santiago Abascal’s inner circle of centralizing power and concealing party finances, citing a €6.5 million loan from Hungary’s MBH Bank and an extra €7 million for European election campaigns.
• Despite escalating internal divisions, Vox’s national polling remains near 15 percent, and the party has gained three deputies in the last month at the PSOE’s expense.