Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the leader of the Popular Party, on Wednesday blamed Morocco for having "engineered" the mass arrival in Ceuta on 30 July, in statements he made during a visit to the city on the day it celebrates "Ceuta Day".
"The operation came from Morocco, was authorized by Morocco and everything suggests it was also coordinated by Morocco," Feijóo said, speaking alongside Ceuta's president, Juan Vivas.
The PP leader demanded the immediate recall of Morocco's ambassador in Madrid to demand "explanations" and that Spain's ambassador in Rabat also be recalled for consultations. He also accused Pedro Sánchez of lying to the public and of "protecting Morocco more than the Spanish."
Feijóo's claims were made as part of his political criticism of the Spanish government and were not presented as findings in any official report by the Spanish government. Sánchez has taken the opposite position, telling Cadena SER radio that "when there are talks and speculations about the participation of Moroccan authorities, I deny it bluntly." He instead pointed to disinformation networks that he associated with Russia and Israel.
Sánchez reiterated his position in Parliament on Thursday, September 3, taking a firmer stance than in his radio comments earlier in the week. "I can assure you that no institution, not the diplomatic service, nor the European Commission, nor any international body, has provided the Spanish government with any solid evidence that Morocco planned or carried out the incident," he told lawmakers.
"It is not only Sánchez who refutes Feijóo's allegations, but Spanish intelligence is moving in the same direction, which is to say it is denying any connection between Morocco and the Ceuta events," said Khalid Chiat, a political analyst and international relations expert. He added that a matter of this type would not normally be in the hands of ordinary police services, but of intelligence bodies closer to the actual information.
Chiat said the gap instead suggests the possibility of overlapping or conflicting security jurisdictions within Spain itself, or else competition between the different players providing security. "I don't think Morocco has anything to do with this directly, but it may become a tool within these internal Spanish affairs," he added. "I see it as being very far from Morocco and from Morocco's interests."
He was blunt in rejecting particular allegations that Moroccan gendarmerie officers had been seen helping the crossings, saying they were based on "videos that cannot be relied upon, or some observations documented in a fragmented way", and that Moroccan security services had in fact used all the means at their disposal to deal with hugely large crowds in a very limited time frame. "This reading is a superficial and simplistic reading of what actually happened in Ceuta," he said.
Feijóo's comments were made in the midst of an intense domestic political controversy in Spain, with Morocco's alleged involvement being one of several flashpoints between the ruling Socialists and the conservative opposition Popular Party. Feijóo also used the opportunity to demand snap elections, saying the government "is not in a position to guarantee the security of our country".
Chiat said that the episode fits into a larger pattern. "As long as this is something of an internal Spanish affair, this can be instrumentalized at the electoral level and can also be used for more profound aims which are linked to the current polarization in Spain around migration and identity," he said. "In the specific case of Feijóo's declarations it is an attempt to court elements within Spain to vote for this current, it is a mobilization with very narrow, Spanish identity-based foundations."
Morocco does not respond to electoral or purely partisan statements, but to the positions of the Spanish state which, Chiat said, have so far displayed a "degree of rationality and a desire to preserve a cooperative course with Morocco, different from the campaign rhetoric."
Spain's own political calendar makes the timing even more significant. Feijóo's action comes some three weeks ahead of Morocco's legislative elections on September 23. Chiat warned that such a move by the Spanish right could bring bilateral relations back to previous, more tense levels, which would not be in Spain's own interest as it seeks greater engagement with Africa, where he said Morocco occupies a leading position.
At the time of publication, neither Morocco's Foreign Ministry nor the kingdom's embassy in Madrid had made a public statement on Feijóo's comments.
