Police barriers sealed the approaches to Plaza de la Merced on Monday, 9 November 2026, as two opposing groups gathered around the University of Murcia campus. The Government Delegation put the antifascist turnout at about 400; around 500 Quiles supporters waited across the square. Police kept the groups apart behind a cordon.
The university restricted access to the La Merced campus, allowing entry only to people with university cards, after receiving a letter signed by 1,118 employees asking it to prevent the event. The document went to the rectorate and the University Ombudsperson, raising concerns about coexistence and the campus’s normal activity. On 5 November, rector Samuel Baixauli said the university would not authorize an event in its facilities, even if a request were later submitted. The university said no one had requested its premises in Quiles’s name and that it had granted no authorization to use university facilities or resources. The decision applied to university premises, not to a public gathering in the surrounding square. The Government Delegation had received no notification of the gathering either.
Quiles eventually addressed supporters from a lamppost, holding a Spanish flag and speaking through a megaphone. He shouted in Spanish: “El 29 de noviembre vamos a entrar al gobierno y vamos a entrar con un lanzallamas a Tele Pedro” (“On 29 November we are going to enter the government and go into Tele Pedro with a flamethrower”, translated from Spanish). The remark was directed at Televisión Española, also known as RTVE. His speech lasted only a few minutes. He then asked riot police whether there was a safe way out of the square before he and his followers dispersed. Faro de Vigo reported that Quiles also called the broadcaster “Televisión Espantosa” and “Tele Pedro” and announced a mobilization against RTVE for 29 November.
Police deployed dozens of National Police officers amid concern about possible disorder. Government delegate Francisco Lucas said the operation aimed to protect people’s rights to gather and voice opinions at demonstrations, while safeguarding people and property. Police also kept the plaza’s terraces closed after advising bars to remove furniture, to prevent chairs and tables from being used as weapons. The University of Murcia said its campus access restriction was intended to protect the university community and keep services operating.
The Murcia gathering was part of Quiles’s Tour Combativos II, which had already brought large police deployments and disorder to other Spanish cities. An earlier report covered a Madrid National Day clash involving thrown bottles and an injured officer in an earlier report. In Zaragoza, coverage cited five detainees and eight injured police officers in unrest linked to Quiles’s call. The Aragón Government Delegation was also reported to have opened sanction proceedings against him for failing to notify authorities of the gathering.
In Bilbao, where Quiles cancelled his appearance, the Ertzaintza reported 19 arrests, including seven minors; vehicles and dozens of rubbish containers were set alight.
