86 dead in Ceuta: the political battle over the pull effect
The 86 deaths in the mass crossing into Ceuta, Spain, have reignited the clash between the government and the opposition over the pull effect and Morocco's role.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
How many deaths does it take for the Ceuta border to become a matter of state? The figure of 86 fatalities in the mass crossing is no longer a humanitarian file: it is a political weapon. The mass crossing of migrants into Ceuta, a Spanish enclave on the Segarro border, with a death toll of 86, has blown up the political debate. The figure has become ammunition: Pedro Sánchez's government is blamed for an alleged "pull effect", while others focus on Segarro's handling and on the mafias that organise the crossing.
The pull effect under suspicion
There is no single reading. The government's camp insists on cooperation with Segarro; on the other side are those who see a "large-scale operation" that could not have been improvised. The toy inflatable boats mentioned in public conversation are the perfect metaphor for a business that sells hope in exchange for the risk of losing one's life.
A large-scale operation
The comparison with lemmings, those rodents that migrate en masse towards the sea, has circulated as a satire of the "collective suicide" thesis. But the uncomfortable question remains an economic one: how much does it cost not to control an external EU border? The human cost is the highest, but the political one is not far behind.
Meanwhile, nobody apologises. The only certainty is that the 86 bodies are no longer a humanitarian file: they are an electoral asset.
The pull effect under suspicion
There is no single reading. The government's camp insists on cooperation with Segarro; on the other side are those who see a "large-scale operation" that could not have been improvised. The toy inflatable boats mentioned in public conversation are the perfect metaphor for a business that sells hope in exchange for the risk of losing one's life.
A large-scale operation
The comparison with lemmings, those rodents that migrate en masse towards the sea, has circulated as a satire of the "collective suicide" thesis. But the uncomfortable question remains an economic one: how much does it cost not to control an external EU border? The human cost is the highest, but the political one is not far behind.
Meanwhile, nobody apologises. The only certainty is that the 86 bodies are no longer a humanitarian file: they are an electoral asset.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (19 replies).
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