Mass migration: Europe's debate that goes nowhere

Mass migration: 2.7 trillion in aid and a debate going nowhere

Europe has transferred 2.7 trillion dollars to Africa since the 1940s as development aid, according to the book Dead Aid. Yet mass migration to Spain is not only continuing, it is intensifying an increasingly polarised political debate. The real issue is not whether to welcome or deport, but the structural reasons that drive millions to cross the Mediterranean.

The failure of international development aid

More than 50 years of development cooperation, and poverty in Africa persists. The argument goes that the continent's economic dependence on Europe, combined with the historical exploitation of its resources (such as coltan in the Congo used to make mobile phones), generates a constant flow of people seeking a decent life. Aid, instead of developing local economies, has created a cycle of dependency that fails to address the root causes of emigration.

Crime and the labour market: two sides of the same problem

Some analysts link migration and crime, citing violent incidents such as the man arrested in Palma who chased his ex-partner with a machete. But others point out that migrants arrive in poverty and that the justice system must treat nationals and foreigners alike. Meanwhile, employers benefit from a desperate workforce that drives wages down, while the political left is accused of seeking new voters among recent arrivals. Business, according to this view, is the great beneficiary of mass migration.

So what now?

The debate remains open: some call for deporting incivil and harnessing the economic potential, others demand tackling the problem at its source. Meanwhile, the data show that development aid has not worked and social tensions are growing. Is there any way out that avoids both the cynicism of some and the demagoguery of others?