CEUTA, Spain — Mari Carmen Mata, a 58-year-old nursing assistant, voice thick with frustration, said she wants nothing more to do with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. His government’s handling of the mass migration into Ceuta threatens to derail his re-election ambitions, with the early general election now looming on November 29.
More than two months have passed since approximately 70,000 migrants poured across the border from neighboring Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on July 30 and 31. While the majority returned within hours, thousands remain—many enduring squalid conditions—and normalcy has yet to return to the city of 80,000 residents.
Public discontent is mounting, fueled by a growing sentiment of abandonment among locals. This unrest plays directly into the hands of the conservative Popular Party (PP) and the far-right Vox, both eager to capitalize on voter dissatisfaction ahead of the election.
Criticism in Ceuta—which has been governed by the PP for over 25 years—largely targets Madrid’s migration policy and what many residents view as a failure to stand firm against Morocco, a country that asserts historical claims over the territory.
“We expected our government to act, whether in the short or medium term,” said Ruben Gonzalez, 33, a civil servant gesturing toward clusters of migrants still moving through the city center. “Instead, these people have been here for two months and there’s been no repatriation.”
“Catholics, Muslims, Jews, Hindus—we’re all united in feeling forgotten,” Gonzalez added, noting that despite describing himself as a centrist, he plans to vote for the right-wing bloc in the upcoming election.
Sonsoles Jimenez, a 51-year-old local businesswoman, echoed these concerns, stating, “In any other country, this kind of situation wouldn’t be tolerated.”