The shock runs through the PSOE due to its inaction in Ceuta: "Sánchez has faltered; it is an image of the end of a cycle"

On Saturday, August 1, when the vast majority of the more than 70,000 people who entered Ceuta illegally had left by the way they came and of their own free will, the Prime Minister shared relief and satisfaction with his ministers. He began his long-awaited month of rest in Lanzarote after a very tense term, Pedro Sánchez declared the crisis closed and all his team congratulated him. The most enthusiastic in his praise of the leader was the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, through his usual channel. “Another crisis resolved by Pedro Sánchez,” he posted on X. After almost a month, the tweet and the Government’s forecasts of “it will clear up” have aged poorly.

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Although he did not know exactly from where the slap that would sour his desired month of rest had come, Sánchez believed the serious situation was resolved within the first 48 hours, with the march towards Morocco of the majority of migrants who invaded the autonomous city. The president, backed by his collaborators, decided not to appear in public again after visiting Ceuta for a few hours to denounce “the violation of Spain’s territorial integrity.” Serious and accurate words that deserved a response and a clearer strategy from the Government.

He never imagined what would happen in the following weeks. A few thousand of those who stormed the fence and arrived by sea – 6,000 according to Juan Jesús Vivas – decided to stay, and another two thousand minors are awaiting identification. About to end his vacation, Sánchez returns to Moncloa with the Ceuta crisis raw.

“It is evident that the president and the Government underestimated the severity of the crisis. Spain has been subjected to humiliation and a tragic situation in the most delicate place, which is the border with Morocco. There is much talk that the Moroccan Government was unaware of the movement of the 70,000 people who invaded the city, but Morocco’s security forces are not the guardians of our border. That is the responsibility of the Ministry of the Interior, which has shown a worrying lack of authority. Spain was not monitoring its border and the whole world has seen that. Morocco will always be able to boast that it can send 70,000 people to a city it considers part of its territory whenever it wants. And this is a reality that the Government of Spain must face, regardless of the party in power. Although it has not been a pleasant situation for Mohamed VI either. He has internal problems and a crowd claiming to flee hunger and precariousness is not the best business card when trying to present Morocco as a prosperous and modern country.” This reflection comes from a good connoisseur of Spanish-Moroccan relations who has held responsibilities in socialist governments.

In general, a shiver of uncertainty, astonishment, and doubts runs through the interior of the PSOE federations. “No one understands the lack of strategy.” “The paralysis in the face of the dramatic situation in Ceuta cannot be explained.” “The president should have convened a Council of Ministers and called Feijóo because this is a matter of State.” “The people of Ceuta feel abandoned and that is because we have not acted with sufficient sensitivity.” “We cannot assume or explain to Spaniards the Government’s complacency with Morocco.” Thus, or in similar terms, the consulted socialist leaders express themselves.

The widespread analysis, both within the PSOE and in the media across the country, is that the Executive failed in its forecasts and that the King of Morocco and his court are responsible for the unprecedented assault on the Spanish city. The Executive denies this. “We have no data that allows us to conclude that the Moroccan Government had any responsibility in the massive entry. Morocco has denied it and nothing makes us think it is lying. The assault is under investigation and hopefully we will know what happened. What we are clear about is that mafias and social networks played a decisive role. And it is very suspicious that the international far-right, with Israel at the forefront, was so quick to speak out against the Government of Spain. That, combined with the PP acting with great irresponsibility in its competition to be more far-right than Vox.”

Moncloa also does not admit lack of foresight or absence of strategy. “It seems the Government thought the usual, it will clear up, without taking into account the severity of the situation. Now it faces thousands of people who are defiant, moving from one place to another, and will not leave until they want to; moving them elsewhere will be useless.”

Sánchez’s collaborators acknowledge that management is very difficult due to the complexity of attending to so many thousands and the slowness of bureaucratic procedures to process the thousands of migrants and the high number of unaccompanied minors who must be legally tutored. Added to this is an undetermined number of women at risk who need a safe place.

“We know the process is very slow, we would like it to be faster, but the law is the law, these people cannot be deported easily; they have rights that must be respected. We cannot bypass bureaucracy or break the law, there were already convictions in 2021 for doing what the PP is now asking us to do,” official sources assure.

The Government also justifies this slowness in providing shelter, food, and hygiene to migrants due to obstacles from the authorities of the autonomous city presided over by Juan Jesús Vivas. “They denied us spaces like sports centers, which were the appropriate places, and we had to improvise tents in military facilities that were under construction. It has all been difficulties to enable the needed spaces. We lost several days there.”

The Government asks for patience to resolve the crisis. But patience has run out for the citizens of Ceuta. “Ceuta cannot continue as it is. The people of Ceuta cannot take it anymore. And the vast majority hold the Government responsible. A decision must be made, and only the president can make it. Either they return to Morocco, and the Moroccan regime would have to accept them all, or they are sent to the peninsula, which would contradict the demands of the European Union. It is not easy. But Spain is trapped between Morocco and the demands of the European Union, which does not share Sánchez’s migration policy,” socialist sources acknowledge. “We cannot transfer them to the Peninsula with the EU and the PP against it,” Moncloa also admits.

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The president has become an undisputed reference for left-wing citizens in Europe and the rest of the world, for his denunciation of the genocide in Gaza and his opposition to Trump. But he exercises that leadership almost alone among international leaders, and it does not help him with the complicated southern neighbor.

“Sánchez tries not to anger Morocco or the EU. The president has always boasted of being an expert in crises. The narrative of his loyal core is that he manages well the many crises that have come his way since he became president: pandemic, volcano, wars, hantavirus, etc. This time, however, he has faltered in a very dangerous situation. The image transmitted is one of weakness and even end of cycle. The Government’s performance in Ceuta does not correspond to that leader with authority who says he is eager to win the general elections and continue governing until 2031. We are at the decisive moment, and what has been seen is not ambition, but doubts and uncertainty about what to do. The poor management will affect the PSOE, even more than corruption. The lawfare can still be assumed by the very convinced. The images of Ceuta and the Government’s lack of strategy hurt us a lot,” says a socialist leader.