Vox threatens to break Seville pact with PP after mosque license approval
Seville's city council approved a permit for a mosque and Islamic cultural center in the Polígono Sur district on Tuesday, prompting Vox to threaten withdrawing support from Mayor José Luis Sanz's PP administration.
License approval after legal review
The Urbanism Commission of the Seville city council approved the construction license for the Fundación Mezquita de Sevilla's mosque and cultural center on Tuesday, with Vox as the sole dissenting vote. The municipal government argued that denying the permit would amount to prevarication, as all technical and legal reports confirmed the use is compatible with the plot's zoning. Urbanism delegate Juan de la Rosa stressed that a private developer on private land complies with current urban planning regulations and that the administration lacks discretion when reports are favourable. The commission also ruled that no urbanistic reasons justified the citizen consultation Vox had demanded, noting that the party submitted no contrary legal report.
Vox threatens to break pact
Immediately after the decision, Vox's municipal spokesman Gonzalo García de Polavieja announced the party would file a recurso de alzada on Wednesday, seeking a precautionary halt to any proceedings on the plot at Calle Victoria Domínguez Cerrato. If the appeal fails, he said they would escalate to the administrative courts. Vox also cancelled a monitoring meeting on the budget pact scheduled for Wednesday, declaring trust in the PP government severely broken. Mayor José Luis Sanz retorted that the two-party agreement covered only budget approvals and never mentioned building permits or any mosque. He brandished a copy of the Spanish Constitution to underline freedom of worship.
I have never committed malfeasance and I never will.
Sanz added that Seville already hosts 14 mosques, one adjacent to the Church of the Terceros, which he called an example of coexistence, and asked whether Vox is objecting to religion or race.
Abascal takes to social media
Vox's national president Santiago Abascal amplified the dispute on X, repeating the party's demand for a popular vote.
We cannot keep imposing on Spaniards what they simply do not want.
He urged institutions to listen to Spaniards and argued that the centre's primary function is religious worship, not the social use declared by the promoter. His intervention came hours after the license was granted, underscoring the national resonance of the local conflict.
A long-awaited project for the Islamic community
The winning design by architect Guillermo Vázquez Consuegra seeks to revive Hispano-Muslim architectural traditions through a building wrapped in a continuous lattice and organised around a densely planted triangular courtyard. The complex will house prayer halls, cultural spaces and community accommodation. The Islamic community, which has used makeshift premises for over 20 years, says the centre will dignify their faith and not increase the Muslim population. Supporters cite the Granada mosque in Albaicín, inaugurated in 2003, as a model of integration after overcoming initial misgivings.
Regional pact holds, for now
The crisis has not spilled into Andalusia's regional government, where PP and Vox govern in coalition. PP-A secretary general Antonio Repullo stated the mosque matter is confined to municipal regulations and should not affect the regional stability agreement. The distinction keeps pressure on Vox, which competes with PP for the same conservative electorate ahead of the 2027 municipal and general elections.
