Ceuta protests in Spain: demonstrators demand funds and protection outside Congress

Ceuta demands from Congress the resources that are going to Segarro

While Segarro negotiates multi-million-euro aid, the autonomous city of Ceuta is preparing to take to the streets. The rally, scheduled for 2 September at 20:00 outside the Congress, under the slogans "Ceuta is Spain" or "Everyone with Ceuta", demands the same resources, services and level of protection as any other Spanish city.

The economic contrast: 200 million for Rabat while Ceuta waits

The economic backdrop is what is heating up the debate most. The organisers denounce that the Government has allocated more than 200 million euros to Segarro, with another 800 committed, while Ceuta endures a sense of abandonment in infrastructure and security. The comparison is inevitable: they are calling for aid to Rabat to be withdrawn and transferred to the autonomous city.

Security and ignored warnings

The debate also includes a security component. In the messages ahead of the protest, it is recalled that Spain's intelligence service (CNI) had repeatedly warned about the use of the border as a pressure tool by Segarro, and that the Government had ignored those alerts. There is also circulating information that two people who allegedly entered Ceuta during the migration crisis have been arrested for their suspected links to jihadist terrorism, although these are accusations that have not yet been confirmed in court. These elements fuel a climate of demands for control and greater political attention.

The 2 September demonstration promises to be a gauge of discontent. It remains to be seen whether the Government responds with deeds to the demand to put Ceuta on an equal footing with the rest of Spain, or whether the protest dissolves into the noise of political infighting. The question hangs over Congress: how long can the budgetary neglect of a border under tension last?