"Santiago Abascal, the president of the conservative VOX party, congratulated his members on their success on Monday, while criticizing the opposition parties. He called them 'mafias', as his party had gained seats in recent elections in the Extremadura region of Spain. "VOX is the only party that during these elections, in the face of the dirty war of others, has spoken about the real problems facing citizens," Abascal said during his victory speech in Madrid. He also criticized the established parties, saying "we are witnessing the gradual collapse of the bipartisanship, the collapse of the mafia, the Socialist Party, the mafia," referring to systemic issues he attributes to the Socialist and Popular parties. While noting that the party achieved the largest increase in votes, seats, and percentage compared to other parties. "We are witnessing the gradual collapse of the two-party system, the collapse of the Socialist Party mafia, the Peugeot mafia, and also the slow collapse, with 10,000 fewer votes this time, of those who act as a fraud by applying socialist policies," Abascal said. He further noted that the party had tackled issues often ignored by the traditional two-party system, including rural abandonment, housing challenges, insecurity, immigration, and high taxes. Abascal went on to congratulated Oscar Fernandez Calle, whose campaign was central to VOX’s growth, saying, "Thanks to him, today I can also say that VOX is the great victor of these regional elections in Extremadura." This comes after Extremadura President Maria Guardiola called early elections in response to Vox’s blockade, a risky move that has now backfired. The PP gained only one seat, reaching 28, while the PSOE saw a significant drop, from 28 seats to 18. The conservative VOX saw an increase, rising from 5 seats to 11, and the left-wing coalition 'Unidas por Extremadura' also made some gains."