Josep Manchado, the director for the environment at the Council of Mallorca, was dismissed on Monday, his boss, the councillor for the environment Aurora Ribot, citing loss of confidence and political differences.
Both members of Podemos, Manchado said that he had expected to be dismissed, "as Podemos has become a place where you cannot give your opinion or disagree", he having attracted a great deal of publicity for his social media comments about Covid measures, such as the Covid passport.
Manchado insists that he isn't an anti-vaxxer or a Covid denier; he says that he has been vaccinated. But he has expressed his opposition to the Covid passport, saying that it has "clear Nazi and fascist reminiscence". He disagrees with the official line regarding the Covid passport, saying that "it seems unbelievable to me that a party like Podemos, which is defined as assembly-based and leftist, is supporting a terrible measure which means that children go to McDonald's and one of them cannot enter, or I cannot enter a Podemos event".
For him, the Covid passport has been "a red line". He is convinced that it will eventually be declared illegal. Moreover, he has differing opinions regarding what he considers to be the "illegal and unconstitutional confinement of people" and about the obligatory wearing of masks.
Until now, he explains, these differences had been dealt with in the department. "In the end, though, I guess there was no other way." So therefore, he had been waiting for his dismissal, which comes as "almost a liberation".
Among his comments on social media have been ones in support of Novak Djokovic - "Forza Nole !!! Millions of people are with you."