Xenophobic Spanish Political Game Taken Down, Developer Blamed

A game appearing on the website of a Spanish political party, in which players shot down illegal immigrants, was quickly yanked from the Internet after objections to its content.

The game, entitled Rescue, appeared on the website of the Catalan branch of the conservative Partido Popular (or People’s Party). Further describing the game, the Telegraph indicated that the goal was to “shoot down targets including ‘illegal immigrants’ parachuting from a plane and donkeys intended to represent Catalan separatists."

Once culminated, the game urged players to vote for the PP in the November 28 elections.

Rival political party ICV-EUiA called the game “an apology for violence and trivialisation of human life,” and an example of “xenophobia.”

For its part, the PP blamed the faux pas on the company that designed the game failing to follow instructions. Party spokesperson Esteban Gonzalez Pons told a radio station that "The targets should have been labeled ‘illegal mafia’ and not ‘illegal immigrants.’”

Pons added, “The idea was to show that the candidate Sanchez Camacho was committed to targeting problems such as unemployment and Catalan independence issues.”