Rubén Blades Condemns Use of 'Pedro Navaja' in Vox Video Criticising Pedro Sánchez

Rubén Blades has condemned the unauthorized use of 'Pedro Navaja', his most iconic song, by Vox "for the creation of a crude political parody" about Pedro Sánchez. According to the Panamanian singer-songwriter and former politician, this unauthorized use constitutes a clear "violation" of his copyright.

"Let it be clear that I am not part of VOX's agenda, that we were not consulted for the creation of this crude parody, and that I consider the unauthorized use of my musical or literary creations a violation of my copyright. What does the Spanish Society of Authors have to say about this?" Blades questions in a public statement released on his social media on the first day of 2025.

The Panamanian composer and singer, aged 76 and a Latin Grammy winner, does not specify what the "crude parody" is in which his music was used without permission, but it is a video published on Vox's X account with a sarcastic version of 'Pedro Navaja', one of Blades' greatest hits, turned into an attack on the Spanish Prime Minister.

"The viral VOX video that Pedro Sánchez doesn't want you to hear. Spread PEDRO NAVAJA!" reads the message posted on December 31, 2024, on the ultraconservative party's X account. The lyrics of the falsified version of 'Pedro Navaja' refer to the judicial investigations surrounding Sánchez with phrases like: "Pedro Navaja is already on his way to court." For Santiago Abascal's party, it is a video "to bid farewell to the year."

Blades reiterates in his statement that he has not authorized "any parties or groups of any kind to use my songs for political purposes, in any country." "It is even more insulting to me that this violation of my copyright comes from those who support projects that seek to destroy the democratic essence that allows the greatest possible representation of the human social ideal and the creation of a more just and supportive society," adds the artist and former Minister of Tourism of Panama.

Creator of social salsa and author of songs like 'Pedro Navaja', 'Buscando América', 'Pablo Pueblo', or 'El padre Antonio y el monaguillo Andrés', Blades was Panama's first Minister of Tourism from 2004 to 2009. During his five years in office, he sought to transform the sector, advocated for sustainable development, the reintegration of gang members into the workforce, created training scholarships, multi-annual plans, and made significant investments that positioned Panama in 2007 as the second country in the world in hotel occupancy percentage.