Taken littorally: Spain’s sudden crisis in Ceuta
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What is the opening overview of the Ceuta migrant crisis?
The Economist. Hello and welcome to the intelligence from The Economist. I'm Jason Palmer. Today on the show Death from Above in India and what's behind it, and how it's getting harder to spot AI writing.
But first
Calm is returning to Ceuta, a tiny Spanish enclave across the Strait of Gibraltar. That calm was hard to imagine last week when tens of thousands of migrants streamed in from Morocco. Spanish border police were fully overwhelmed as people swam or even walked around a breakwater that serves as a flimsy border. Scores of migrants died in the attempt. Those who survived found themselves disappointed.
Aquí no hay comida, no hay nadie. La gente, la policía no vino y la gente sentaba que todo va marchado.
There's no food here, one migrant says. We're all leaving. And an overwhelming majority of them did. But not all. This sudden surge has a long and complicated backstory. А бік партнер історика enmity between Morocco and Algeria. In particular, who has the rightful claim to another North African territory, Western Sahara? But more than the history, what's under scrutiny now? Present immigration policies and attitudes of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. One of the last left leaning leaders on the continent.
I think it raises many questions, especially for Spain of course, but also for the European Union as a whole.
Michael Reid is a Spain correspondent and writer at large for The Economist and is based in Madrid.
The Spanish government is being asked by the opposition how did this happen? How was this allowed to happen? Was the government not forewarned? I think the answer there is the government was distracted by these very, very serious wildfires we've had over the past month and it was preparing to go on holiday in most of the rest of Europe. They look at at the situation and think that Spain's immigration policies have contributed to a kind of pull factor which was involved in this. They say the Spanish government denies that.
Why did tens of thousands of migrants suddenly try to enter Ceuta?
So let's wind back a little bit. Why did this happen now? Why so many people suddenly trying to get into Sayuta?
The immediate trigger was a ruling by the Spanish Supreme Court three weeks or so ago that people who arrived in Ceota without breaching the border fortifications could not be sent back immediately. And the interpretation of that was that if you arrived by swimming where there were no border defenses, then you could not be sent back. That got around on social media in Morocco, particularly on TikTok. In the end, thousands of people moved to the north of Morocco. They began crossing at the beginning of last week and then there was a flood on Thursday the thirtieth. The big question is what was the role of the Moroccan authorities? That leaves a big question for Spain as to whether Morocco is a reliable partner or not.
The Spanish government diplomatically has been blaming trafficking rings for this, but this was just masses of people moving to the border.
There is precedent here though, people have flooded or at least trickled into Ceyuta before.
In twenty twenty one A large number arrived in so to perhaps eight thousand, perhaps more. Because Morocco took a decision to tell its border guards to step aside and Morocco organized that incursion and they did it because there's a big rivalry here between Morocco and Algeria in the background. Spain had allowed the leader of the Polisario, that is a military organization of the people of the Western Sahara, which is a former Spanish colony which was occupied by Morocco in nineteen seventy five, and the Polisario represents with Algerian backing those people who are opposed to Moroccan occupation of the Sahara. And so Spain allowed the military leader of the Polisario Front To come into Spain for medical treatment and they didn't tell Morocco.
And that infuriated the Moroccans and their response was to weaponize migration in this way. Morocco and Algeria are enemies and any switch towards Algeria annoys Morocco. And Morocco feels empowered by the fact that it is a key ally of Donald Trump in North Africa and it's an ally of Israel.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the opening overview of the Ceuta migrant crisis?
0:03–2:44
2
Why did tens of thousands of migrants suddenly try to enter Ceuta?
2:44–5:52
3
How did the Spanish Supreme Court ruling trigger the mass crossing?
5:52–10:02
4
What role did Morocco‑Algeria rivalry play in weaponising migration?
10:02–13:23
5
How have EU governments reacted to the flood of migrants into Ceuta?
13:23–16:15
6
What actions has the Spanish government taken in response?
16:15–20:14
7
Why are falling objects a public‑safety crisis in India?
20:14–22:33
8
What did the data‑driven study reveal about AI‑generated writing?
22:33–23:55