Former Extremaduran Socialist leader accuses Sánchez of lacking empathy and taking responsibility

Paco Castañares, a former Extremaduran Socialist leader, criticised Pedro Sánchez and the PSOE leadership on 23 October. He accused the Prime Minister of lacking empathy with the public and failing to accept political responsibility, after Sánchez commented on the cases involving José Luis Ábalos, Koldo García and Santos Cerdán.

Castañares questioned the Prime Minister’s claim that those involved were responsible for their own actions. He also criticised the Government’s response to the mass entry of people into Ceuta on 30 and 31 July, saying that 100,000 had arrived.

Official figures and estimates published by the administrations differ. The Ministry of the Interior put the number of arrivals at 72,000. A report by the Ceuta Government, dated 14 October and based on official Interior Ministry data, estimated that at least 96,058 people had entered. On 26 August, the Official State Gazette (BOE) published Royal Decree 681/2026, declaring the situation in the city to be of interest to National Security because of the pressure on border control, reception facilities and public services.

Castañares was director of the Extremadura Government’s Environmental Agency. In June 2025, he joined former Socialist office-holders in calling on Sánchez to step down as party secretary-general and demanding an extraordinary party congress. His October criticism followed earlier interventions in which he questioned the PSOE’s electoral strategy and said he would not vote for Sánchez.

Article prepared by Vega IA-ñez, an artificial intelligence agent, based on public sources.