The migration crisis in Ceuta continues to evolve on the ground, but also in the political sphere. While the city continues to bear extraordinary pressure, with thousands of immigrants still present, a strained reception system, and a growing concern for the situation of unaccompanied foreign minors, the focus of public debate has undergone a striking change.
In recent days, the political conversation has not been led by the PSOE or the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez. The spotlight has been taken by other actors: the President of Ceuta, Juan Vivas, with his appearance before the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) Committee of the European Parliament; the Popular Party, which has intensified its political offensive in Spain and Brussels; King Felipe VI, who received Vivas this Thursday in Marivent; the European Commission, which has raised the community dimension of the crisis; and the police unions, which maintain their complaints about the lack of resources to face a situation they consider exceptional.
The institutional management remains in the hands of the Executive. However, the political debate is no longer solely revolving around the Government's actions, but about who is shaping the narrative of a crisis that has ceased to be exclusively Spanish to also become a European issue.
A communication concentrated in few spokespersons
Since the beginning of the crisis, the Government's public response has mainly fallen on the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, and, occasionally, on other members of the Executive such as the Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, Elma Saiz. This Friday, the Minister of Youth and Childhood, Sira Rego, is expected to travel to Ceuta to learn about the situation of the minors housed in the city.
Even their government partners, Sumar, have expressed criticism of Sánchez's Executive, demanding the Alawite kingdom take responsibility in this crisis, despite the collaboration provided by the socialist wing of the Government, and even proposing to Portugal to review the celebration of the World Cup with Morocco.
The truth is that, beyond these interventions, the PSOE has not deployed a broad-reaching political strategy comparable to that observed in other crises of great impact. Neither has Pedro Sánchez used, at least until the closing of this edition, his social networks to address the citizens directly about the situation in Ceuta, a tool he has used on other occasions to take a position on matters of great political significance.
The crisis broadens the focus of political debate
As the days have passed, the crisis in Ceuta has ceased to focus exclusively on the immediate management of the massive arrival of immigrants. The political debate has been expanding as new fronts have emerged.
Firstly, the question of the State's capacity to respond to an unprecedented migratory pressure in a city of barely 85,000 inhabitants remains open. This is compounded by the situation of the thousands of unaccompanied foreign minors taken in Ceuta, whose guardianship, distribution among autonomous communities, and legal protection have come to occupy a large part of the institutional debate.
At the same time, the police unions maintain their complaints about the insufficiency of human and material resources to face a crisis that they consider still far from being stabilized. Warnings about the possibility of new attempts to enter from Morocco are also still present in the discourse of professional organizations and various political leaders.
The international dimension constitutes another of the elements that has gained strength during the last week. Relations with Morocco, cooperation in migration control, and the role that the European Union must play in protecting its external borders have come to occupy a central place in the political discussion, especially after the appearance of the president of Ceuta, Juan Vivas, before the LIBE committee of the European Parliament.
In parallel, the Government has maintained its message focused on the actions of the State Security Forces and Corps, institutional coordination, and compliance with current legislation regarding unaccompanied foreign minors, while other aspects of the crisis have been gaining increasing prominence in the political debate.
The PP intensifies its offensive in Spain and Brussels
Meanwhile, the Popular Party has placed the Ceuta crisis at the center of its political strategy in recent days. To the initiatives registered in Congress and in the Senate to demand explanations from the Executive has been added the offensive developed in European institutions.
The extraordinary meeting of the LIBE committee of the European Parliament, driven by the European People's Group, allowed Juan Vivas to directly convey to Brussels the situation facing the autonomous city. During his speech, the Ceuta president demanded greater involvement from Frontex, Europol, and the European Asylum Agency, in addition to defending that the protection of an external border of the Union cannot rest exclusively on the collaboration of a third country.
The European debate has reinforced one of the main lines of argument of the Popular Party: that the Ceuta crisis transcends the migratory sphere and raises questions about the security of external borders, the common immigration policy, and the response that community institutions must provide when one of their territories faces an exceptional situation.
Meanwhile, political activity around the crisis has continued to grow with new statements from European officials, police unions, and involved administrations, in a scenario where public conversation no longer depends exclusively on the initiatives of the Government.
Europe stops looking only at Spain
Juan Vivas's intervention in Brussels represents one of the political milestones of the week.
The Ceuta president conveyed to the MEPs that the situation exceeds the capacity of the city and demanded greater involvement from Frontex, Europol, and the European Asylum Agency.
He also argued that the protection of an external border of the Union cannot depend exclusively on a third country, a reflection that directly connects with the debate on relations between Spain and Morocco.
The European Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration, Magnus Brunner, avoided announcing new measures, nor was it his task yesterday, but he agreed on a relevant political principle: the security of external borders must be strengthened from within the European Union.
With this, the Ceuta crisis has ceased to be interpreted solely as a bilateral problem to fully incorporate itself into the community agenda.
The King and Juan Vivas project a high-impact institutional image
Another of the most significant moments of the week has been the meeting between Felipe VI and Juan Vivas at the Palace of Marivent.
Although the meeting is framed within the institutional activity of the head of State during his summer stay in Mallorca, the photograph acquires special relevance in the current context.
While the crisis continues to occupy national and international headlines, the most powerful institutional image of the day was represented by the King and the president of Ceuta.
A political pressure from very different fronts
The uniqueness of this crisis lies in the fact that the criticisms of the Executive do not come from a single political space nor respond to the same approach.
The PP focuses its reproaches on the political management of the crisis and on the need to assume responsibilities. Vox demands much more forceful measures in terms of border control. Police unions demand more resources for the agents deployed in Ceuta. The parliamentary partners of the PSOE have focused on the protection of minors and on legal guarantees. Meanwhile, the European Commission has opened a debate on strengthening the external borders of the Union.
Each actor interprets the crisis from a different perspective. This diversity of approaches also explains the difficulties of the Government in constructing a narrative that simultaneously responds to all criticisms.