40,000 entries into Ceuta in one day: the collapse Spain's government denies

Ceuta's border breaks down and the official narrative falls short

Two days ago, Ceuta proge up to a scene not seen since 2021: thousands of people entering by sea and land, overwhelming the security forces. The figures circulating are unprecedented: 40,000 entries in 24 hours in a city of fewer than 80,000 inhabitants. The images, broadcast live, show human waves exceeding those of the 2021 crisis, the last major surge at Spain's southern border.

Behind this new wave is an element that did not exist four years ago: a ruling by the Superior Court of Justice that, according to published reports, practically prevents the immediate pushback of those who enter by swimming. The phrase that sums up the legal effect: if you enter by sea, no return is possible. The Spanish state is left with its hands tied while the border blurs across the Mediterranean.

A crisis that is not spontaneous: the Schengen factor

The economic analysis points in another direction. The mass entry is not explained by the ruling alone: there is a backdrop of European migration policy that many prefer not to mention. The Schengen agreement, which allows free movement within the EU, turns any breach in Spain into a gateway for the entire common area. It is no coincidence that in Italy there is already talk of suspending Schengen with Spain, or that the French far right had spent months warning about the effect of mass regularization programs. The warnings were on the table before the boats arrived.

The economic dimension: cheap labor or social collapse?

Some argue that these waves are not a system failure but the system working: Europe's economic elites need constant pressure on wages and flexible labor, and porous borders are the mechanism. The diplomatic meeting between Spain and Mauritania, with agreements on migrant boats, is cited as proof that nothing is improvised. The "shock doctrine" applied to Ceuta: create the crisis, justify the policy, and normalize what was once unacceptable.

The state, caught between press releases and an opposition demanding intervention

Meanwhile, the official response is limited to press releases and a policy of normalizing the figures that clashes with what the images show. At the other extreme, one current demands a military response, the mobilization of the Army, and a reinterpretation of the territorial abusa as an act of war. Some even recall that, in the past, certain attacks were deemed a casus belli. NATO does not enter the equation: Ceuta is not covered by Article 5, and Spain's money for Alliance aircraft does not translate into protection on the ground.

What no one can quite reconcile is why the government insists on the narrative of normality when the data point to a collapse. Or perhaps it does add up: if the border has become an instrument of political and economic pressure, there is no failure to correct. Just a crisis being managed.