559. Who Really Benefits from the Ceuta Migration Crisis?
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What happened in Ceuta and why did 50,000 people cross in one day?
You've all no doubt been following events in Ceuta. As many as 50,000 people swing from Morocco into this small Spanish enclave in the space of a single day, and dozens dying en route. Immediately on seeing the pictures that we've all now seen, many of the world's politicians rushed in. It's an invasion. Let's blame weak borders, blame Spain, blame Morocco, blame the migrants, blame anyone. But there is another bigger question I think worth asking. Who actually gained from what happened here? Maybe the people smugglers that Spain blames for orchestrating it, but I'm not so sure. But there's a second set of winners, most of them far away from the waters around Ceuta. The far right round the globe using this tragedy to further their agenda on immigration.
Donald Trump using it to needle Spain over their stance on Gaza and Iran. Benjamin Netanyahu ditto. Putin's disinformation network, which moved on this story so fast and so hard, I just wondered if they knew what was coming. Italy's Prime Minister, Giorgia Maloney, invoking it to push for tighter internal EU borders, despite this having nothing to do with European free movement. Back home, Reform and the Conservatives both claiming that the Moroccan migrants were heading for Britain, the AFD in Germany saying they were heading for Germany, and the Rassemblement National in France, they were heading for France. This is the three Ps at work. Populism, polarization, post-truth. And if a rumor can move tens of thousands of people and reshape a continent's political dialogue in a single day, what does that say about the immigration debate, immigration policy,
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Welcome to The Rest Is Politics with me, Alistair Campbell. And with me, Rory Stewart. Quick introduction to who Gerald Knauss is, who's joining us today. Gerald is one of my great heroes, and Alistair will tease me about the eclectic nature of my heroes, but Gerald is a campaigner who has set up something much more than a think tank. He passionately advocates for issues and tries to bring change in the world.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What happened in Ceuta and why did 50,000 people cross in one day?
0:01–10:00
2
How does Ceuta’s geography and history shape the migration crisis?
10:00–30:05
3
What evidence suggests Moroccan authorities enabled or encouraged the crossings?
30:05–44:36
4
How did social media and images fuel the Ceuta migration surge?
44:36–52:48
5
Why did far‑right leaders and global actors exploit the Ceuta images politically?
52:48–1:01:11
Speakers
3 identifiedMore from The Rest Is Politics
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