Sanchez, the African tour and the (bipartisan) controversy over expulsions

The Atlantic route from West Africa to the Canary Islands is one of the deadliest in the world. Although there is no precise death toll due to the scarcity of information on African departures, the Spanish migrants' rights group Walking Borders estimates that there have been thousands of victims this year alone. Migrant boats that get lost at sea or encounter problems often disappear into the Atlantic. Some drift for months and are found in the Caribbean and Latin America with only human remains on board. But the danger of the route is no deterrent for those desperately seeking a better life in Europe.

President Faye expressed concern about the high number of departures from the Senegalese coast to Spain and emphasised that, in addition to repressive measures, the causes of migration must be addressed. The agreements signed with Sánchez provide for 'circular migration' programmes, offering Senegalese temporary work opportunities in Spain for up to nine months per year, with permits valid for up to four years.

In 2023, around 17,200 foreign workers participated in circular migration programmes in Spain, but only 140 were Senegalese; the majority came from Morocco and other Latin American countries.

The Socialist leader highlighted the benefits of 'safe, orderly and regular' migration, while the Popular Party criticised the government for providing a so-called 'pull factor', making migration more attractive. Sánchez reiterated that 'the migratory phenomenon knows no borders' and that collaboration between countries of origin, transit and destination is essential to tackle the migration challenge effectively.

He also stressed the need to fight people smuggling networks, which are often linked to terrorist groups and drug trafficking, and emphasised the importance of repatriating migrants who have arrived illegally in Spain in order to send a strong message and discourage the criminal organisations leading the trafficking.

According to Gonzalo Fanjul, director of the PorCausa Foundation's Research Area, Spain is applying the 'same strategy of externalising migration control that it has been implementing for years'. At the same time, however, there is the novelty of paths to legal migration. "There has never been an attempt to respond to Africa's need for migration with a serious and real possibility of creating a queue that allows people to aspire to get a work visa in a reasonable time," Fanjul added.

However, the director emphasised the difficulties involved. Firstly, it must be a measure of sufficient scope to meet the challenges of the region. "In other words, it cannot be limited to tens of people, or the few hundred that have participated in such agreements in sub-Saharan African countries in the past, but must reach the tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands that will be needed in the coming years." We must then make sure that it is not 'a mere empty commitment on the part of the government, as there have been so many in this regard, where they say the right things, but then everything collapses because it is a very unpopular measure'. Fanjul emphasised that one must therefore 'have the courage to accept that the approach taken so far has failed'.

The Popular Party harshly accused Sánchez of not using his visit to Africa to 'fight human trafficking networks'. The first to react was party president Alberto Núñez Feijóo, who said on social media that the prime minister "promotes Spain as a destination" for irregular immigrants and acts "in the opposite way to the rest of the European Union". "Those who arrive should have a contract in their country of origin and a commitment to respect our laws," said the opposition leader.

The party's parliamentary spokesman Miguel Tellado went further, stating shortly afterwards that for the PP 'irregular immigration has no place in Spain'. During an interview with esRadio, the Popular Party leader urged the government to 'start talking about mass deportations instead of mass regularisations', in line with the strategy followed by countries like Germany or Italy.

The Spanish government has also entered the debate, criticising the fact that the PP party is positioning itself alongside Vox and accusing Feijóo of 'embracing Vox's xenophobic and alarmist rhetoric'. This was said by the Spanish Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, who, during an interview, questioned the Popular Party's lack of 'responsibility and humanity' regarding the massive migration crisis that also affects their administrations in Ceuta and Melilla, as well as those in the Canary Islands. 'The PP pursues Vox with a xenophobic and alarmist discourse that aims above all to divide Spanish society,' he said.

The Spanish premier's recent trip to Africa has revealed a similarity with Italian premier Giorgia Meloni. Although the two leaders belong to opposite ideologies - Sanchez is a social democrat, Meloni a conservative - their migration policies do indeed have some similarities. Both focus on agreements with countries of origin, expulsions and the promotion of legal migration, despite theoretical differences: Sanchez defends the right to migrate, while Meloni advocates rejections. However, in practice the policies are not that far apart, especially on regular migration.

*This article is part of the Pulse project and was written by Silvia Martelli (Il Sole 24 Ore, Italy), Lola García-Ajofrín (El Confidencial, Spain)