Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets across Spain on Wednesday to demonstrate against the migrant crisis in the country’s North African territory of Ceuta, where roughly 72,000 migrants stormed across the border earlier this summer.
Vox leader Santiago Abascal called Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez "a traitor to Spain, to the Spanish, to the people of Ceuta, even to his own party, his pledges, and his voters."
The protests took place on September 2, the official holiday for Ceuta. Roughly 50,000 protesters took to the streets in Madrid. According to the Spanish newspaper El País, police fired rubber bullets and tear gas at crowds to disperse them.
Protesters placed much of the blame on Sanchez. The Associated Press reported widespread turnout across the country, including in Barcelona, Valencia, and Seville. Protesters waved Spanish flags and shouted slogans including “A united Ceuta will never be defeated,” “Sánchez to prison,” and “Invaders — go home!”
Sanchez posted a video on social media, saying "Today I want to thank the people of Ceuta for the serenity, solidarity, and responsibility they have shown during these weeks. We are mobilizing all the resources at our disposal so that your city can regain full normalcy as soon as possible. I am sure that next year we will celebrate it with a stronger, more prosperous Ceuta, better prepared for the future. Happy Ceuta Day."
He followed up that post by saying "I want to send a message to all the citizens of Ceuta. We are not going to abandon you. I know that you are going through very difficult times and that most of you are tolerant and supportive people. We will not stop working until Ceuta emerges from this crossroads stronger, more prosperous, and more integrated with the rest of Spain and the European Union. It will not be easy. But we will achieve it." That has not appeased the Spaniards.
The protests in Madrid and more than 200 other cities and towns were organized by the nonpartisan Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces. Despite this, Spain’s minister of territorial policy, Ángel Víctor Torres, said the protests were politically motivated.
“This is not to show support for the city of Ceuta or its residents; it is to attack the government of Spain,” Torres told Spanish National Radio.
The protests come after roughly 72,000 migrants rushed into the Spanish territory in July, which has a population of about 84,000. At least 90 migrants died during the mass entry, while reports from the Spanish government from just days after the incident claimed that most of those who entered had been returned across the border. Rapes and other crimes have been reported.
“What happened to us was not a migratory crisis,” said Ceuta’s regional leader, Juan Jesús Vivas, during an institutional act for the holiday. “What happened was the violation of Spain’s territorial integrity.”
