Sánchez points to Ceuta for the situation of the minors: "Let them ask Vivas"

MadridTwo and a half months after the massive arrival of immigrants in Ceuta, the crisis in the autonomous city continues to set the agenda and the attacks in Spanish politics. However, as has happened in the major previous catastrophes that Pedro Sánchez's executive has had to manage in coordination with PP-led regions, such as the DANA in the Valencian Community or the summer fires in Madrid and Castile and León, the debate is turning into a conflict of competencies. A clear example is the situation of the immigrant minors who are still in Ceuta, of whom there are currently 2,084 registered and between 700 and 1,000 wandering the streets. Regarding the delicate situation a month and a half later, Sánchez was categorical: "Ask [Juan Jesús] Vivas about it," he said in statements while leaving the Congress chamber. In other words, the Spanish president is directly pointing at the government of Ceuta.

La Moncloa, therefore, is going on the offensive against the Ceutan president, Juan Jesús Vivas, since sources from the Spanish government believe he is no longer concerned with restoring normality but rather with defending the PP's talking points. The executive's thesis is that Alberto Núñez Feijóo wants to use Ceuta to wear down Sánchez and that, for this reason, he is committed to "making the crisis chronic." In this sense, sources from La Moncloa recall that the guardianship of minors is the responsibility of Ceuta and that the Spanish government has already approved 25 million euros in additional funding at the beginning of the crisis and is setting up places for reception. For this reason, they pose a question: "Why don't they ask for the transfer to the peninsula"? A request that is within Ceuta's power, but which bothers the regions governed by the PP and Vox. "It is in the hands of the PP to accelerate it," these sources say.

The Moncloa puts forward the example of Navarre, governed by the socialists, which has begun to host unaccompanied minor girls in a situation of special vulnerability. It is, therefore, a temporary solution while the files are being processed, in which it must be agreed whether family reunification is possible – the collaboration of Morocco is needed – or they remain under the guardianship of the State administration. Until now, as explained this Tuesday by the Minister of Territorial Policy, Ángel Víctor Torres, only ten files have been able to be processed, since there has also been another clash with the autonomous community. The new EU Pact on Migration and Asylum requires that there be a legal representative for minors in all procedures and the two administrations were competing over who had to provide them. Finally, the State has advanced 2 million euros while waiting for the courts to define the competencies.

Sánchez-Feijóo face-to-face

Ceuta has also been central in the control session this Wednesday within the chamber, where Pedro Sánchez and Alberto Núñez Feijóo faced each other in a new head-to-head. "Your patriotism is a mere facade, it's something you put on and take off," the Spanish president reproached the opposition leader regarding the PP's criticism of the crisis management. "While the European Commission congratulates and recognizes the efforts of the government of Spain, the only thing you do is put sticks in the wheels to solve the problem of Ceuta," he added.

For Feijóo, however, the Spanish government is not doing everything in its power to accelerate the return of the immigrants, who they believe should be removed from Ceuta "immediately". After Morocco sent a pressure letter to several MEPs in which it denied any responsibility for the crisis in Ceuta and committed to the readmission of all the people who entered Spanish territory, Feijóo asked Sánchez if he had already spoken with the Moroccan authorities to execute it. "There are only three options: you do not want to and prefer to chronicle the problem, you are an incompetent, or someone is lying". In his response, Sánchez did not clarify when was the last time he spoke with Rabat and the opposition leader summarized it with the word "shame".

Sources from the Spanish government insist that legally they cannot do what the PP is demanding and recall that after the 2021 crisis there were convictions for prevarication for returning minors in an express manner. They assure that their goal is also the return of all immigrants, but that it must be done following the legal procedure, which implies an individualized file for each one. In the case of adults, those who do not have the right to asylum will return, they say, because Morocco has also committed to accepting them; while in the case of minors, they prioritize family reunification. However, at this point they also admit that if it is not possible, they will remain under Spanish guardianship.

Criticism from partners

While Ceuta has been the focus of the debate between the PP and the PSOE, Pedro Sánchez's government partners have criticized the Spanish government for the loss of purchasing power. The spokesperson for Junts, Miriam Nogueras, emphasized the ideological criticism against Sánchez: "You are a machine for manufacturing the poor," she expressed, blaming the Spanish government for being a "highway for the far right." "The Spanish treasury is a machine for robbing the Catalans."

Nogueras attacked the social and housing policies of the eight years of the socialist government, as they consider there is an impoverishment of the population: "You have been in power for many years and the result of your policies is an increasingly polarized society and an unbridled far right." Furthermore, she pointed out the judicial cases surrounding the Spanish government: "The social elevator only goes down and corruption goes up."

From the left, EH Bildu also pressured Sánchez, but in another sense. Mertxe Aizpurua demanded a labor package to recover wages: "Reactionaries are stopped with more rights for the working class."

For Sánchez, however, his government's action is precisely the dam against the ultra-right and he boasted of the increase in the minimum wage or the emancipation grants for young people regarding housing. In addition, he extended his hand to his allies of the plurinational majority against the PP and Vox: "There is much left to do."