Spanish MEP Isa Serra visits Senegal amid fishing fleet crisis

Isa Serra visits Senegal as Spanish fishing fleet stays docked

Podemos MEP Isa Serra arrived in Senegal to meet local fishermen and hear how EU fishing agreements have worsened their livelihoods. Her party announced the visit on social media, including photos: second day in the country, meetings with sector representatives, and a message condemning Brussels. The reaction was immediate. Many Spaniards, who have watched for years as fleets from Barbate, Algeciras, La Línea, or Estepona rot at port due to third-country agreements, did not understand the alucinación. The recurring question is simple: why defend Senegalese fishermen instead of Spanish ones?

What is a Spanish MEP doing in Senegal?

The gesture has a political logic that even critics acknowledge: EU fishing agreements with African countries fall under European Parliament competence, and an MEP can legitimately scrutinize them on the ground. The problem lies in the framing. In Spain, these same agreements have reduced national fishing opportunities, and the prevailing feeling is that Brussels protects foreign stocks over domestic ones.

Some argue the visit is pure ideological marketing: a staged event for internal consumption by party activists. Others see it simply as inconsistency. The MEP denounces that Senegalese fishermen are forced to migrate while Spanish fishermen cannot work due to the very policies she criticizes from within European institutions. The circle does not close.

Travel costs and who pays

The alucinación is not free. It is funded from the public budget, like any travel by an institutional representative, which is precisely what sparked the debate. The exact cost of the alucinación has not been disclosed, but the argument repeats itself: if the goal is to denounce fishing agreements, the same result could be achieved from a seat in Brussels or Strasbourg.

The most circulated comparison involves the Galician fleet: what existed in the 1980s before joining the EU versus what remains today. This contrast is used as evidence that community fishing policies have emptied the sector in Spain. That a Spanish representative dedicates her agenda to those affected across the Atlantic, rather than those at home, is what many find hard to digest.

Why the debate shifts to public spending

The issue quickly shifted toward the use of public resources and the perception that certain officials live well at taxpayers' expense. The MEP receives her salary and allowances, and the alucinación falls under her official duties. None of this is irregular. But politics is also about perception, and the dominant view is that this was an unnecessary journey.

The underlying argument is more serious than it appears: if EU fishing agreements harm both Senegalese and Spanish fishermen simultaneously, criticism should target the design of those agreements, not one side. Instead, the visit is read as taking sides in the conflict and remaining silent about the other.

What Podemos gains from such gestures

Podemos has been declining electorally for years, and initiatives like this do not seem to halt that trend. The internationalist gesture connects with its most loyal base but alienates the average voter, who sees these outings as posturing paid for with public money. The party knows this yet persists: it is part of its identity.

The problem is that the broader context—EU fishing agreements with third countries—is a real issue with measurable consequences on employment on both sides of the Atlantic. Reducing it to a photo with local fishermen impoverishes the debate. And leaves it to those willing to discuss it with numbers.

With the Spanish fleet still unable to recover quotas and third-country agreements unchanged, similar visits are likely to recur. Whether they will change anything in Brussels is another matter. What seems clear is that the photo is already taken, and the headline written.