The explanations from the core ministers about the Ceuta crisis lead to a conclusion as worrying as it is controversial: for the Government, there is no one responsible, beyond the “lies” on social media, for the massive entry of 72,000 people – new official figure – into the autonomous city on July 30. Worrying, because if there is no concrete culprit, there are no consequences either. Controversial, because practically all partners and opposition parties have a radically opposite opinion. They point to Morocco as the executing hand behind the greatest “attack on the integrity of Spain,” including IU, which is part of the Government. Thus, they accuse the Executive of Pedro Sánchez of being a “doormat” acting with “weakness” in the face of the challenge.
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The official discourse that exonerates Morocco anticipates the line expected to be followed by the Prime Minister in his appearance next Thursday, September 3, and at the same time indicates where some of the main reproaches will fall: his handling of a diplomatic relationship with Rabat and his belief that it is truly a “reliable partner.” It is true that Sánchez has so many open fronts due to the management of the Ceuta crisis that Morocco is not his only weak flank, but certainly his partners and the opposition will dig into a topic that has brought back to the forefront that intrusion with Pegasus on the phones of Sánchez and other Government members, and whether that episode is conditioning his response today. This is not only a question from the PP; it has also been asked by the parties supporting Sánchez in Moncloa.
The official narrative that Morocco is not guilty has cracks within the Government itself. It is not as visible as the controversy over whether the CNI warned about the avalanche, but it is there as well. And again, Margarita Robles (Defense) is the dissenting voice that at least hints doubts about a material author and whether social media were only a vehicle. If the testimonies of both sides are analyzed, there are striking differences. José Manuel Albares (Foreign Affairs) and Félix Bolaños (Presidency and Justice) completely absolve Morocco from the episode and enthusiastically defend that it is a cooperating partner. Saying otherwise or that Rabat orchestrated the entry into Ceuta is, for Bolaños, “disrespecting [that country] without any proof.”
For Albares, Morocco’s role was “essential” to “stop the crisis” and the only responsible for the massive entry was the “unprecedented viral spread of lies and hoaxes” on social media, which gathered a crowd. That is why the response only passes through diplomacy and dialogue with Morocco is “indispensable” for cooperation.
Robles does not accuse Morocco but neither absolves it, and recalled in her appearance that “hybrid threats” use immigration with a “destabilizing purpose.” “Let’s not fool ourselves, there are many issues that will take time to be known, others that we may never know. Interested actors who probably favored this crisis or are using it with a clear political destabilization purpose. Not only of Spain but also of the European Union.” And shortly after, she continued: “The evident confirmation of the proliferation of hybrid attacks and threats makes the reinforcement of a joint action of democratic societies in defense of our values and respect for the life and dignity of all human beings more necessary than ever.”
Congress groups demanded to know if it had been Morocco. “It is not for me to talk about the neighboring country. The neighboring country will know what it has done and what it has not done,” she said.
For his part, Albares did not even speak of hybrid threats, nor did he have reproaches, not even veiled, towards the docility shown by Morocco in border control on that tragic July 30. He places all the blame and the success of the call on the viral power of “fake news” on social media. “The platforms have been the inflammable channel through which lies have spread on a global scale and at an unprecedented speed,” he excused.
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However, a large part of that dissemination was later attributed to Moroccan press and influencers, and it “explosively” broke out between July 28 and 30 following a video of two young people swimming across, which had an impact at that time of 30 million people, especially in Morocco. The question of whether there was any interested actor in favoring that dissemination remains unanswered.
Robles explained in her appearance that the European Union itself has recognized in its “reports” that social media have become “a powerful tool for the rapid mobilization of migrants through the use of encrypted messages that allow sharing in real time the situation and information at border crossings and that are clearly used and manipulated by destabilizing agents.” Therefore, according to her statements, there is an interested actor in achieving that goal.
Thus, Albares’ narrative is that it was a sudden crisis originated on social media, while Robles’ version is that there was information, and it was communicated the day before, that there was “a call for the next day to be able to enter by swimming.” Neither Spain reinforced the border nor Morocco either. Moreover, the Moroccan side was more permeable than ever since the 2021 crisis.
Even Sánchez’s most loyal partners have criticized the absence of a single official line of the facts. “The more I listen, the less I understand; the summary of this week is disheartening: the versions do not match,” Francesc Álvaro of ERC reproached them yesterday. “It is surprising that the Government has been unable to agree on a narrative about the warnings about Ceuta. The only thing they have agreed on is to defend Morocco,” added Jon Iñarritu of Bildu.
The way Moncloa has dismissed Morocco’s possible responsibility at least in the laxity of border control with Ceuta on the day of the avalanche is evident by the fact that there is no public record that any kind of explanation has been requested. Albares, on the other hand, did summon the Italian ambassador after the Government of Giorgia Meloni linked the massive arrival to the autonomous city with the extraordinary regularization of immigrants promoted by the Executive and raised the possibility of suspending the free movement of the Schengen area with travelers coming from Spain, as ended up happening.
Questioned precisely about his “tameness” towards Rabat, the Foreign Minister asked yesterday “not to confuse diplomatic forms and diplomatic discretion with firmness.” “Just because I do not air diplomatic actions and conversations does not mean there is no firmness. And when it comes to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Spain of Ceuta and Melilla, I will always defend them,” he concluded.
