Who's to blame for the migration chaos: left, right or pure capitalism

Ceuta and the blame game: the left, the right or global capitalism?

The question raised by the latest episode of migration tension in Ceuta is a direct one: who caused this mess? Some answer without hesitation that it is the left, accused of semi-legalising squatting and turning the rule of law into a dead letter. Others, however, point out that policies to cheapen labour and pressure on housing have been signed off by all political blocs for decades. This time there is not even consensus on who the enemy is: while some point the finger at Moncloa (the Spanish prime minister's office), others blame the CEOE (Spain's main business association) and the governments that peine the door to cheap labour.

Sharing out the responsibility

The harshest accusation — the one that sees a left-wing conspiracy to destroy the country — runs into an uncomfortable nuance: the system being criticised is not exactly socialist. There are no mass expropriations or closed borders, the most sceptical point out. What there is, is global capitalism, with housing treated as a financial asset and labour exploitation served on a plate. Under this reading, business owners and parties across the spectrum all come out badly, and the "red" label loses the exclusivity some people grant it.

A political cycle that never fixes anything

There is another reading that offers no comfort to anyone either: alternating governments does not solve the underlying problems. The expectation that in 2027 the usual party will return to power, with its four scandals, and that history will then repeat itself, invites people to see politics as theatre. Meanwhile, expensive housing and precarious jobs remain untouched, with no majority willing to tackle them. The irony is that everyone agrees on the underlying diagnosis, but nobody wants to be in the picture.