Global or traditional Madrid? Neoliberalism and nationalism in the discourse of VOX and PP on Latin American immigration

Abstract

The relationship between populist radical right parties and neoliberalism continues to be a subject of academic debate. While large sections of the literature in Europe often argue that neoliberalism has lost prominence within this ideological family, there are contemporary examples that show coexistence between neoliberalism and nationalism, however contradictory. This article examines this contradictory coexistence in the electoral discourse on Latin American immigration of the two main right-wing parties in Spain: VOX and the People’s Party (PP). Focusing on the case of the city and region of Madrid, we analyse 21 electoral speeches and 3 televised debates using a theoretical-qualitative approach. The results show that, in its struggle with the PP, VOX is forced to reconcile Madrid’s image as an open and global city/region with its own defence of an exclusionary national identity. In this context, VOX attempts to selectively integrate Latin American immigrants into a restrictive nationalist narrative, while the PP adopts a more inclusive Madrid nationalism that rhetorically emphasises the inclusion of those who are different. Both parties also resort to a neoliberal discursive framework, although with key differences: the PP does so from a globalist logic that welcomes difference, while VOX proposes an ambiguous Ibero-American alliance against socialism which, ultimately prioritising Spaniards, reveals contradictions in its narrative.