Thousands of people gathered this morning outside the PSOE national headquarters in Madrid, carrying party flags and posters with slogans such as "Yes, he must stay" or "Pedro, don't give up", in response to the call from socialist leaders for a mobilization and public demonstrations of support for the leader of the party and the Spanish Government, who said on Wednesday that he was thinking of resigning. The demonstration mobilized about 10,000 people, according to the PSOE, and about 12,500, according to the Government Delegation in the Autonomous Community of Madrid (the entity that authorizes the demonstrations and organizes the security arrangements). The gathering was formally organized by the PSOE, but on social networks and messaging platforms such as WhatsApp. Regional structures of the PSOE said that, at the request of groups of militants, more than a hundred buses were rented throughout the country to take people to Madrid today. The demonstration took place while a meeting of the PSOE Federal Committee, the party's highest body between congresses, was taking place inside the building, but without the presence of Pedro Sánchez, who has not been seen in public or made any public statement since he revealed on Wednesday that he was thinking of resigning, promising a communication to the country next Monday. Ministers and PSOE leaders assured that this was a personal decision by Sánchez, who did not previously consult other members of the Government or the PSOE and that since then there have also been no private meetings. The meeting of the PSOE Federal Committee was a demonstration of support for the party leader, to try to convince him to remain at the head of the Spanish Government, in line with messages, appeals and other initiatives from ministers, mayors and regional presidents in recent days. Today's demonstration in Madrid took place with shouts of support for Sánchez and his wife, Begoña Gómez, who the Prime Minister and socialist leaders say are being the victims of personal attacks in disinformation campaigns on the Internet that the Spanish right-wing and far-right parties are taking to the political debate. "Stay" and "They shall not pass" were some of the words and phrases shouted at the demonstration. The meeting of the PSOE Federal Committee was broadcast on screens and loudspeakers installed in the street of the party's national headquarters, where the demonstrators were gathered. The meeting began with Sánchez's deputy in the Government and in the party, Maria José Montero, denouncing a "dirty war" by the right and far right against the Prime Minister and his family, based on disinformation campaigns that she compared to others that have occurred in Brazil, the United States, Argentina and "many European countries". "President, stay. Pedro, stay. We are with you. Go forward!", said Maria José Montero. Pedro Sánchez revealed that he was considering resigning on the day that a court confirmed the opening of a "preliminary investigation" for alleged influence peddling and corruption by his wife, Begoña Gómez, following a complaint by an organization with links to the far right and which the Public Prosecutor's Office has already requested to be shelved for lack of foundation. The leader of the PSOE and the Spanish Government said that he and his wife have been victims for months of the "mud machine" of the right and far right (Partido Popular and Vox), with personal attacks, and that he does not know if it is worth continuing in office. The PP and Vox accuse him of playing the victim and putting on "a show" that embarrasses the country internationally, to divert attention from suspicions of corruption and to campaign on the eve of several elections. Read Also: PSOE denounces "dirty war" against Sánchez. Spaniards take to the streets in support (Portuguese version)