The resignation of the head of Vox’s social networks has shaken the party in one of its moments of greatest media exposure. Javier Esteban, until now responsible for the digital strategy of the party, has resigned and has requested his resignation as a militant after a complaint of alleged sexual harassment of a militant when he was a minor came to light. The news, reported by several national media, has generated a strong internal impact and has opened a new front of controversy within the party.
According to the information known, Esteban has not only abandoned his responsibilities within Vox, but has also wanted to make public his version of events. In a message posted on the social network X and picked up by Europa Press, the former leader has assured that he will prove his innocence and has attributed the origin of the accusation to leaders of the youth organization Revuelta, whom he points out as directly responsible for promoting the complaint.
An immediate resignation in order “not to harm Vox”.
In his communiqué, Javier Esteban explains that he has decided to step aside immediately. “None of this affects the party,” he maintains, while justifying his departure as a way to avoid further damage to the political formation. In the same message he also announces that he is abandoning his work responsibilities, recalling that he joined Vox in 2014 and has been part of the project for more than a decade.
Esteban affirms that his resignation as a militant is voluntary and responds to the desire not to drag the party into a controversy that, in his opinion, has an origin outside Vox. “I have never assaulted anyone. I will prove my innocence,” he states emphatically in his publication.
The complaint for alleged sexual harassment
The existence of the complaint was published by the newspapers ABC and El Mundo. According to these reports, a militant of Vox and of the youth organization Revuelta filed a complaint against Javier Esteban for alleged sexual harassment. The facts denounced would have occurred in 2023, when the young man was 16 years old.
According to what was published, Esteban had sent insistent messages to the minor to arrange meetings, to which he agreed. In one of these appointments, the then head of social networks of the party allegedly made touching “with sexual and libidinous spirit”. The complainant, who is currently 18 years old, also told the police that there could be at least two other cases involving minors.
These revelations have generated a strong commotion, not only because of the seriousness of the facts denounced, but also because of the organic position that Esteban occupied within the party.
The accusations against Revuelta
In his public defense, Javier Esteban has focused much of his speech on pointing to the leadership of Revuelta, the youth organization linked to Vox. Specifically, he points to Jaime Hernandez and Pablo Gonzalez Gasca as those responsible for the accusation.
The former head of networks recalls that last November 30 he publicly denounced that both leaders “refused to show the accounts that only they manage in Revuelta”. In his message, he establishes a direct link between that denunciation and the emergence of the case. “After leaking audios and spreading lies, they try to present me as someone perverse. I am not,” he says.
Esteban also highlights the timing of the complaint. As he points out, this is presented “two years after the alleged facts” and “only a few days after” demanding transparency about the economic management of the youth organization. “Anyone can see the relationship,” he says.
A self-defense message
The statement released by Javier Esteban has a markedly defensive tone. In addition to denying the facts, he insists that he has never committed an aggression and that his goal now is to prove his innocence. “I have never assaulted anyone. I will prove my innocence,” he reiterates.
In the same text, he insists on disassociating Vox from the case and pointing out that the controversy responds to an internal conflict with Revuelta’s management. “It is the determination of Jaime and Pablo to control Revuelta and continue to hide the accounts that they have managed and continue to manage without control,” he says.
The message concludes with a particularly harsh sentence: “I doubt very much that others will be able to do the same”, in reference to the ability to prove innocence in the face of accusations.
