The Ceuta Finance Minister, Kissy Chandiramani, made a strong intervention behind closed doors at the Fiscal and Financial Policy Council, according to EL MUNDO’s reconstruction. In the presence of the Finance Minister, Arcadi España, and the single command in the crisis, Ángel Víctor Torres, the Ceutan gave a version opposite to that offered the day before by the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, in his appearance in Congress. The socialist denied significant warnings from the Ceuta government president, Juan Vivas, in the days prior to the invasion of the autonomous city, but Chandiramani assured that there were indeed such warnings.
«Since July 27, we have been demanding from the Government of Spain the declaration of a National Security emergency, the closure of the border, more human, material, technological resources, a strong response to the seriousness of the situation, and the appointment of a single command. We contacted those responsible for protecting their citizens, warned that something was happening, and the response was clear; “don’t alarm, it’s the same every summer”. They told us the same on July 29.» This is how the minister expressed herself, ratifying Vivas, according to the version provided to this newspaper by the Ceutan official and corroborated by witnesses.
She protested against the passivity of the central and Moroccan governments: «Who did not take measures? Who ordered to keep the doors open for 48 hours? Why did the Moroccan police not stop this act of hybrid warfare until two days later? Are the relations with Morocco so satisfactory for the Government? Why is the security of 83,000 Spaniards left in the hands of Morocco, a country that threatens us?»
This Spanish woman of Indian origin, with a law degree from Madrid and Paris, took advantage of the forum to demand from Arcadi España «urgent financing» after the little received so far. «To those who have to lead the management of this sovereignty crisis, with all the pain in my heart, I have to say that they have not been up to the task. They have skimped on resources, all kinds of resources, and have even come to Ceuta to call us and label us as racists and xenophobes, troublemakers, exaggerators. Ceuta can’t take it anymore, we are on the edge of the abyss and we don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel», she said before the ministers. And she stressed: «The humiliation to which Morocco has subjected us is more than evident, the one to which you subject us, time will judge».
According to consulted witnesses, España and Torres avoided the clash. The Finance Minister later assured in a press conference that he had guaranteed the Ceuta minister that she would have those resources.
The minister voted against the new financing model: «It goes without saying that we need extraordinary financing, due to our uniqueness, due to our border situation. We have been demanding it for years, and in this new financing system our needs are not met. Now we will also need extraordinary and urgent financing to assume the management of the services under our competence that have had to be doubled or tripled in some cases, because if to this serious situation we add the bankruptcy of the local treasury, the disaster will be total».
Other consulted ministers told this newspaper that her intervention was very applauded inside the room. The Finance Minister of Andalusia, Carolina España, read on behalf of the PP Finance Ministers, the majority, an institutional declaration of support. «We consider that the State must guarantee all sufficient human, material, and financial resources to address the emergency, fully recover normality, and prevent the extraordinary costs incurred from compromising the city’s budgetary stability or the proper provision of public services to its citizens». They do not mention the reception of minor immigrants in Ceuta, although the central government has also not been insisting in recent days on a possible distribution. The Ceuta minister recalled that «the trust of the Ceutans is at stake, the castle is wounded».
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