More than a crisis
The crisis between Spain and Morocco has brought to the surface all the problems that were kept in the drawer of that 'economic cushion' that covered everything up until it ended in a diplomatic disaster that looks set to get worse.
Sánchez's government has chosen the worst enemy and the worst moment to polemicise with a Morocco at its climax. Why this interest in counteracting Morocco's progress on its national issue?
The European Parliament's resolution against Morocco was a 379/678-vote reproach, far from unanimous, which has only managed to divide it. And where Ceuta and Melilla are described as borders of the EU, as well as placing it in the spotlight of international public opinion and institutions such as the African Union (AU), the Council of Gulf States (GCC) and the Arab League (AL).
The Pan-African Parliament spoke out against the resolution, calling on the EU not to interfere in a bilateral issue. On the other hand, the secretary general of the Cooperation Council for the Gulf States (GCC), Nayef Falah Mubarak, criticised the European resolution as unfounded. The Arab Parliament, which last May strongly condemned the European Parliament's silence on Israel's "crimes and violations" in Palestine, accusing it of having "double standards", had warned the European Parliament not to get involved. But to no avail. The European Parliament has therefore called an emergency meeting in Cairo on 26 June to discuss the issue, and all indications are that there will be a serious backlash against Spain and the EU.
Today, the world knows where Ceuta and Melilla are and has established that these enclaves are located in Africa, and in no way, they can be Europe but Spanish colonies in Africa. Morocco is preparing a diplomatic offensive with the African Union (AU) and the Arab League (AL) to declare the "Africanness" of the enclaves and their "decolonisation". It is well known that the African Union (AU) is determined to abolish all traces of colonialism on its continent. It is mindful of the occupation, plunder, genocide and slave trade perpetrated by the Europeans who met at the Berlin Conference in 1884 (France, Spain, Germany, Belgium, etc.) to divide up Africa. These same countries, which today form the EU, have murdered men and tied children by the neck to the tent peg while raping their mothers, have exhibited African beings in their museums under the title "Savages" (Belgium), with entrance tickets included, and have shamelessly exhibited for years the body of a stuffed African in the animal section of a museum in Spain.
Until now, Morocco has been excessively tolerant of a Spain that, at the slightest opportunity, does not hesitate to make gestures of contempt towards its southern neighbour, revealing the anachronistic imperialist spirit that still lingers in the subconscious of a Spain that has needed Morocco's support before, during and after its Civil War and, recently, in its transition.
The "military deterrence" that successive Spanish Defence Ministers and their military officers, who have become talk show hosts and columnists, have been demonstrating in order to maintain the status quo is nothing more than the pedagogy that feeds arrogance and "racist hatred" among the population. A discourse of method that seems to be the manual of every Spanish Defence Minister, which has once again been put into practice by the Minister of Defence, Margarita Robles, to threaten Morocco in the midst of a diplomatic crisis, describing it as an "enemy" country. Does Spain want to turn the Strait of Gibraltar into an inferno? Is Spain trying to destabilise the only stable and secure country in the region by risking its own stability?
Arrogance is treacherous. It has prevented Spain from appreciating the southern neighbour's paradigm shift and its political and economic advances, as well as the shift in the balance of power. Today's Morocco is a geostrategic power and a key interlocutor for the US, the UK, France, China, Russia, the Arab World and Africa. A 'soft power' reactivated in a marathon of international diplomatic activity since the arrival of King Mohammed VI in 1999.
With the US recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over its Southern Provinces, Spain has seen Morocco get away from the "chinita" that it, along with Algeria and Mauritania, had placed in its shoe. With the exception of Mauritania, which remains in limbo, Spain and Algeria are threatening because their instrument of distraction (the Polisario) has been defeated and they only have to bear the penance of the suffering Sahrawi population kidnapped in Tindouf. This political violence is in the interests of both sides, both of which share an equal interest, as they are aware that the time has come to resolve the territorial disputes over Ceuta and Melilla (Spain) and Eastern Sahara (Algeria).
Sánchez has allied himself with the Algerian social-communists commanded by the military junta, which also collaborates with Iran, an aspect that has not been ignored by Moroccan and US intelligence. A clique with whom Sánchez is plotting to counter Morocco's efforts. Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita's warning during the mercenary Ghali's stay in Spain that "the crisis will not end with his departure" shows that the upper echelons of the Moroccan state are aware of this plot, thus limiting the conflict to a very clear and concrete framework from which Sánchez and his Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defence are trying to evade. In fact, Sánchez, whom Trump sent to his seat when he tried to greet him at the previous NATO meeting and whom Biden again ignored in an embarrassing selfie, also at a NATO session, is manoeuvring against Morocco in international forums, while his minister González Laya presents herself to Blinken as a victim of Trump's decision.
Sánchez's government has shown a worrying deficit in its international relations that has ended up breaking a strategic and promising partnership in the Strait of Gibraltar with an Arab partner, a moderate Muslim, pro-Western and exemplary in its fight against immigration and terrorism, and an outstanding leader in the continent of the 21st century, Africa.
Morocco continues to demand clarifications and Sánchez's government continues to get suspiciously entangled. It has gone from the clandestine reception of the mercenary Ghali to involving the European Parliament over the entry of immigrants into Ceuta, to charging Trump for recognising the Moroccan nature of the Southern Provinces and finally requesting US mediation.
It is false what Sánchez said that Spain is Morocco's best ally in the EU, if not France, which is also Morocco's best ally in the UN Security Council. It is also false that Morocco demanded Spain to recognise its Southern Provinces. It is well known that Spain is not part of Morocco's plans in this regard for obvious reasons that deserve a separate chapter.
Spain and Morocco have the opportunity to rebuild, from scratch, a new neighbourly relationship based on a realistic format, beyond economic conditions, in accordance with geopolitical interests that favour regional stability, especially when the Sahel has become a hotbed of terrorists following France's withdrawal from Operation Barkhane and the possible closure of the gas pipeline that supplies Spain.
A dialogue that seems impossible with Sánchez's government. In the meantime, Spain's political, economic, military, and intellectual class, including the press, will have to renounce the secular arrogance of which neighbouring Portugal has also fallen victim.