The general coordinator of Izquierda Unida Aragón and regional deputy, Marta Abengochea, has denounced in the Cortes de Aragón the "irresponsibility, negligence, and inability to govern" of President Jorge Azcón and Vice President Alejandro Nolasco regarding the situation in Ceuta and the attention to migrant children, reproaching them for refusing to "provide solutions" to the migratory crisis of the autonomous city.
In a press conference, Abengochea criticized that the Aragonese Executive refuses to sit in the institutional spaces where attempts are made to reach consensus on responses and, at the same time, "tries to use this situation to generate headlines, confrontation, and political gain."
Izquierda Unida has criticized the decision of Azcón's Government to absent itself from the Sectorial Conference on Childhood and Adolescence and to reject the extraordinary transfer of 25 million euros approved by the Government of Spain to care for the migrant children who are alone in Ceuta.
"If the Government of Aragón wants to help Ceuta, the first thing it has to do is work. And working means sitting down with the rest of the administrations, studying the problems, proposing solutions, and assuming the part of responsibility that corresponds to us. What Azcón cannot do is refuse to participate, boycott any solution, and then stand in front of a camera with a look of indignation," declared Abengochea.
Competencies and absence in the Sectorial Conference
The leader of IU Aragón emphasized that the governments of Aragón, Extremadura, and Castilla y León have not attended any of the meetings of the Sectorial Conference on Childhood and Adolescence since the current officials took office.
"PP and Vox have repeatedly demonstrated that they do not want to govern or assume responsibilities. They want to occupy the institutions, but when the time comes to exercise the competencies assigned to them and face complex problems, they get up from the table," she criticized.
Abengochea detailed that the 25 million euros allocated to Ceuta will serve to cover existing expenses in the care of minors who are alone, prevent them from ending up on the street, and alleviate the pressure that the autonomous city is under.
Among those concepts are included accommodation, maintenance, clothing, transportation, healthcare, legal support, socio-educational accompaniment, translation services, and specific identification and attention to especially vulnerable profiles.
"What part of all this does Mr. Azcón exactly reject? That a child has a roof? That they can eat? That they receive medical attention? That Ceuta has resources to face a situation that it cannot resolve alone?" asked the IU deputy.
Contradiction with the patriotic discourse
For Izquierda Unida, the position of the Aragonese Government reveals a profound "contradiction" with the patriotic narrative upheld by PP and Vox.
"Here, their national priority quickly runs out. When a Spanish city needs the entire State to collectively assume a situation that overwhelms it, Azcón and Nolasco respond that Aragon does not want to know anything," she emphasized.
Abengochea has also framed the migratory situation of Ceuta in a broader geopolitical context, recalling that Morocco has used migratory flows on other occasions as a pressure tool at the Spanish border.
"Those who spend the day giving lessons in patriotism should be the first to understand that Ceuta cannot be left alone and that the response must be collective, European, and respectful of human rights," she stated.
The coordinator of IU reproached PP and Vox for trying to address a global phenomenon like migration from "the denial of reality and fantasy."
"Migration exists and will continue to exist. There are wars, inequality, persecutions, economic crises, and a climate emergency that displaces and will displace millions of people. No matter how much PP and Vox get angry and hold their breath, reality does not disappear," she pointed out.
Call for cooperation and criticism of the Aragonese Government's strategy
For this reason, she has called for migratory policies based on cooperation between administrations, planning, territorial solidarity, and respect for human rights.
"Governing is precisely about facing complex realities and seeking solutions. It is childish to think that if one refuses to talk about the problem, abandons meetings, or points to migrant people, the problem ceases to exist."
United Left has accused the Aragon Executive of "using the situation in Ceuta as a stage for its political confrontation while rejecting the concrete tools aimed at alleviating it."
"If they do not attend any meeting of the Sectorial Conference, if they reject resources so that Ceuta can dignifiedly attend to the people, if they do not understand this situation as a responsibility of the whole State and also do not want to contribute solidarily to alleviate it, what support are they exactly offering to the Ceuta society?" asked the IU parliamentarian.
"Calling for concentrations and putting on a face of great indignation? That is not governing. The only thing they are demonstrating is their inability to offer solutions and their enormous capacity to sabotage them and create headlines," she added. Abengochea also accused Azcón of allowing Vox to dictate the position of the Aragon Government on migration issues.
"Every time Nolasco needs a headline, Azcón allows him to use the institutions to fuel hatred and confrontation. Aragon needs a president who governs, not a president permanently concerned about how far he has to move so that Vox does not overtake him on the right," she warned.
The general coordinator of United Left Aragon has finally urged the regional Executive to abandon this strategy and to get actively involved in the search for solutions. "If you really want to support Ceuta, Spain, and contribute to a European response, sit in the places where solutions to the great global challenges are worked on.
Devoting all your energy to getting angry, sabotaging agreements, or launching fanciful proposals solves absolutely nothing." "Mr. Azcón, govern with maturity and responsibility. Stop submitting to Vox, do your job, and assume the responsibilities that correspond to the Government of Aragon. That is what the institutions are for and that is why you govern," concluded Abengochea.