Rabat – Spain’s right-wing party Vox, known for its inflammatory rhetoric, has submitted a proposition of law (PNL) demanding that Madrid enforce a total border closure with Morocco.
In its proposition, the Ceuta branch of Vox demanded “total closure of borders with Morocco,” citing “continuous threats to territorial integrity.” For Vox, the “continuous threats” amount to the “civilian army sent by Morocco” that “invaded” the Spanish enclave, reports El Faro de Ceuta.
But hiding behind concerns over Spain’s “territorial integrity” (in northern Morocco) lie the typical anti-immigration talking points that are so common in conservative circles. Sidelining the broader Moroccan-Spanish migration cooperation and its pre-existing framework, the party also demanded that the Madrid government stop issuing any further residence permits to Moroccans.
The PNL also calls for mass deportations of all irregular migrants that arrived in the enclave, “including minors,” which would be breaking Spain’s own laws that prohibit deportation of children. Such narratives, while removed from any kind of legal reality, are popular with the ever-growing base of supporters of political parties like Vox.
Read also: Vox Party: ‘Spain is a Puppet in Morocco’s Hands’
Vox’s demands for repercussions against Morocco are nothing new, as the party attempts to rally its supporters under its nationalistic war cry every few months, seeing the North African country as the perfect “enemy.”
At least twice last year, in August and October, Vox called for increased military spending while citing Morocco as an existential threat to Spain’s interests and “territorial integrity.” In a similar fashion, the Ceuta delegate for Vox, Teresa Lopez, demanded that the government not allow “Ceuta and Melilla to become an annex of the neighboring country.”
And the xenophobic narrative appears to have paid off. Financial Times has reported, for instance, that “some surveys suggest the PP and Vox would between them command a majority in the Spanish parliament after the next election.” This would signify a radical shift from the current Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party leadership.
The party believes that measures currently in place, even with reinforcements following the migratory crisis, are not enough. For Vox, the fact that “the hostility is maintained at the borders and the ambassador in Spain of the neighboring country has again warned that Morocco takes note and will act accordingly.”
