The PSOE cracks with Ceuta

MadridCeuta is calling into question the Spanish government and also the PSOE. The management that Moncloa is carrying out of the crisis has managed to bring together the partners and the opposition, as they all agree that the executive has reacted late and badly to the crisis. The government avoids self-criticism – even Sumar questions the action of ministries dependent on the socialists – and critical voices begin to emerge within the PSOE itself. The trigger is the rally that this Wednesday, September 2, the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces, chaired by the PP, has called in various cities of the State, including Ceuta, Madrid, Barcelona and dozens of municipalities coinciding with Ceuta Day. The PSOE leadership has called not to attend, but not all socialist groups are listening to them. The federation of Ceuta, as well as some municipalities in Andalusia, for example, support it, and the mayor of León, José Antonio Díez, will attend a call from civil society in solidarity with the city. The PSOE deputy and vice-president of the Ceuta Assembly, Melchor León, has also been very critical of Sánchez's executive.

The PSOE leadership, from the Ferraz headquarters, considers that the rallies are a PP maneuver to put Pedro Sánchez's government on the ropes. "There is no tension or unrest," assure socialist sources from Ferraz about the internal situation of the party, emphasizing that they made a "positioning" and not an "imposition" to their ranks. That is to say, they tolerate that there are some officials who, in a "minority" way, they insist, want to join. They also deny that it is an anti-Sanchista movement, since among the protesters there will not be those who normally show themselves critical of the Spanish president, such as the president of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page – whom the PP accuses of boycotting rallies in the region – or the mayoress of Palencia, Miriam Andrés, who in the last federal committee of the PSOE was critical of Moncloa's strategy.

From Ferraz, they point to the "lack of consensus" within the Federation of Municipalities to launch the call as the reason why they are not in favor of the concentrations. In fact, it was announced by the president of the entity and mayoress of PP of Jerez, María José García-Pelayo, during a visit to Ceuta where she called on Pedro Sánchez to get involved in the crisis. "It is not a constructive idea," the same sources emphasize, reproaching the PP for filling their mouths talking about Ceuta when they refuse, at the same time, to transfer immigrants to the Peninsula, which would alleviate the pressure on the autonomous city. In the words of the socialist spokesperson, Montse Mínguez, "we are all with Ceuta, but it is not about being there for only five minutes in a town hall square and, on the other hand, letting Ceuta fall from the flag when it asks for solidarity," she said this Monday. The PSOE recalls that Extremadura, Castilla y León, and Aragón, with PP presidents, did not attend the sectoral conference on the distribution of minors due to pressure from Vox.

"There is no guts to send the riot police"

From Moncloa, this Tuesday they have expressed "respect" for the demonstrations, but have asked that there be no violence after incidents occurred in the autonomous city last week. For their part, the president of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, who will be in the autonomous city this Wednesday for Ceuta Day — as will ministers Elma Saiz and Ángel Víctor Torres — has called for mobilization, also in Madrid, where a dispute has occurred between the Spanish executive and the Madrid City Council. The Madrid council had requested permission to convene a demonstration in Cibeles Square, but the delegation in Madrid responded that as an institution it does not have the right to assemble and must channel it through an institutional act.

However, even though it can still be done and a security detail is even planned, the PP denounces a "prohibition" of the event. "They are afraid that Spain will speak," Feijóo said on X, while Moncloa denounces the dissemination of "a lie." "They don't have the guts to send the riot police," resolved Isabel Díaz Ayuso. At Wednesday's demonstration in the Spanish capital, in addition to the PP, the leader of Vox, Santiago Abascal, will also be present, with the socialists absent.