What’s behind Spanish state’s migrant crisis in north Africa?
In DepthWelcome migrants, oppose Spanish colonialism in north Africa, don't let the far right exploit itByTomáš Tengely-EvansDownloading PDF. Please wait. . . Friday 31 July 2026IssueSocial democratic prime. . .
In DepthWelcome migrants, oppose Spanish colonialism in north Africa, don't let the far right exploit itByTomáš Tengely-EvansDownloading PDF. Please wait. . . Friday 31 July 2026IssueSocial democratic prime minister Pedro Sánchez (Picture: WikipediaCommons)The Spanish state has declared a “state of emergency” in Sabta, north Africa, to stop refugees making it across the border from Morocco. Around 49,000 people have tried to make it into the Spanish-ruled city—better known by its colonial name Cueta—in recent days. The far right in the US, Germany, Italy, France and Spain have seized on it to attack the social democratic PSOE prime minister Pedro Sánchez. He has taken more progressive stances on immigration and Palestine compared to the rest of Europe’s rulers. Israel has outrageously jumped on the scenes to attack the Sánchez government, which stopped arms to the terror state after it launched the genocide. “Maybe before it continues lecturing us, it’s time it explained to the world why it still maintains colonial enclaves in Africa,” says Danny Dalon, the Israeli settler colony’s ambassador to the United Nations. However, there are dangerous theories floating around about it among some left wingers and commentators too. They say, in essense, that Israel and its ally Morocco are behind the refugee crisis in Sabta to punish the Spanish state for its stance on Palestine. This has bled into dangerous talk of Spain being “invaded” as punishment over Sánchez’s stance on Palestine. How should socialists approach this? Here are some basic starting points:The Spanish state should get out of Sabta and Mliliya—and the other territories it occupies in north Africa. The Spanish Empire seized these territories between the 1400s to 1600s. In 1912, Spain grabbed more land when Morrocco was partitioned into “protectorates”. The Spanish and French states dominated the country, alongside an “international zone” around Tanja in the north ruled by Spain, France and Britain. When the colonial powers were forced to give up their “protectorates”, Spain refused to leave Sabta and Mliliya and Hajar Badis, Jzair l-Hoceima and Jzair Chafarina. Anything less than demanding the Spanish state ends its colonial occupation is a collapse into pro-imperialism. So, the talk of Spain being “invaded” is deeply reactionary—firstly, Sabta is a Spanish-occupied land, secondly, it is the far right that brand refugees and migrants as “invaders”. Refugees are welcome, no to deportationsThe European Union (EU) has turned the Mediterranean Sea into a mass grave—and the Spanish state has long enforced this racist border regime along its colonial outposts in north Africa. Of those trying to get into Sabta, many are Moroccans facing hardship under neoliberalism while others are people fleeing from Sub-Saharan Africa. If you’re an anti-racist in Europe, the starting point is, “We welcome migrants. ”The Spanish state, under social democrat Sánchez, has been more progressive on immigration than other European states. A decree this yearallowed undocumented migrants to apply for legal residence. It was the result of the pressure of the anti-racist movement, such as the big mobilisation of migrants in 2020. But Sánchez took this stance knowing that Spanish capital is desperate for labour among an aging population. At the same time, he can still back the EU border regime and Spanish influence in north Africa. In 2022, Sánchez congratulated police for preventing migrants from entering the Spanish state from Morocco via Spain’s colonial enclave of Mliliya. He called the attempted crossing a “violent assault on Spanish soil”. There is nothing progressive about a social democratic government sending troops to reinforce a colonial border and repress migrants. Does this mean the Moroccan state isn’t using the borders as leverage? No, of course not. In 2021, for example, Moroccan authorities relaxed border controls at Sabta after the Sánchez government allowed an independence leader from Western Sahara to receive medical treatment in a Spanish hospital. The following year Sánchez shifted Spanish state’s (opportunistic) position on Western Sahara and met Moroccan king Mohammed VI. States do use the refugee crisis as leverage. The same was true with the Belarusian regime using refugees at the Polish/EU border, which was then seized on by the far right and fascists. However, the refugee crisis existsindependentlyof such manoeuvres—it is a product of imperialism, racism and climate chaos. The increase in people trying to make it across the border came after Spain’s Supreme Court ruled that migrants arriving by sea to Sabta and Mliliya cannot be summarily returned to Morocco without due process. Spanish state officials have said they will try to return recently-arrived migrants in despite the ruling—indeed, they are already expelling several hundred. Morocco and IsraelThe Moroccan state has a long-standing relationship with the Israeli settler colony. In 2020, Morocco signed up to the “Abraham Accords”, pushed by the US to “normalise” relations between Israel and Arab states, and it has backed Donald Trump’s colonial land-grab in Gaza. There is a longer history of cooperation. For instance, there is credible evidence that Moroccan intelligence services worked with Israeli and French spooks to assassinate Mehdi Ben Barka in 1965. He fought for independence, then radicalised leftwards and fell foul of King Hassan II regime. As an exile, he brought together the Tricontinental Conference of national movements and states in the Global South, including the Palestinians. He was murdered before it took place in 1966. At times, this relationship has played out in contradictory ways. Its rulers know that there is a widespread support for Palestine among ordinary people, while wanting to maintain their rule and place in the Western imperialist infrastructure in the region. If you’re a socialist in Britain, we have to be guided by some basic principles:Support for migrants and refugees, no to the EU border regime, no defence of the Sánchez government’s actions in Sabta. Opposition to Spanish colonialism in north Africa. Support people in Morocco against their own state that impoverishes them while making ties to Trump, Israel and imperialism.