Melchor León: the Ceuta speech that changed in two years

Melchor León and the speech Ceuta changed in two years

Two years ago, Melchor León, the Socialist MP for Ceuta, described VOX as a party driven by "the hate they carry inside". It was a neat line for an interview. Today, with migration pressure on the autonomous city dominating the headlines, that same line is circulating for a different reason: as a reminder of the U-turn. Politics in Ceuta has shifted from treating migrant arrivals as a manageable phenomenon to demanding firmness. Opinions, his critics point out, do not always survive the calendar.

Consistency, that judge who never forgives

The argument repeated most often is simple: those who three months ago described the people arriving as those "coming to seek a better life" are now hardening their tone. The claim is that this reversal shows their stance depends on the distance to the coast. On the other side of the scales sits a reasonable objection: migration policy is adjusted according to changing data, and recognising a new situation is not, in itself, a betrayal. The problem is not the U-turn: it is that nobody explains it.

Fátima Hamed, Vivas and the rest of the board

The focus is not only on León. Fátima Hamed is quoted as having placed VOX as Ceuta's enemy, and Juan Vivas, president of the city, is highlighted for now defending what yesterday he criticised from the opposition. The pattern repeats in every crisis of recent years — the Dana flooding, the La Palma volcano, the Adamuz accident, the wildfires: someone would remind the others where they stood when it was time to stay quiet.

Beyond the bickering, one fact remains: Ceuta is the EU's land border with Africa and its migration policy leaves no room for spin. The calendar has already passed judgment on two years of slogans and three months of reality.