The people of Ceuta, who, filling the void left by public administrations, have voluntarily taken charge of welcoming people who crossed irregularly into the autonomous city, have exploded. Days go by, about twenty already, but the authorities still have not provided a decent (and safe) space for thousands of immigrants who continue to be exposed to the elements, despite the Government’s promise to deploy “immediately” four centers with 1,500 beds. “If there is no solution now, the volunteers will not take care of anyone else,” warned Hafida Mustafa yesterday, a resident of the Príncipe neighborhood who has been guarding the sports court for more than a week, which became the refuge for girls and adolescents who arrived alone in the city, in a situation of enormous vulnerability to sexual violence, exploitation, or trafficking. Patience is running out on the streets, with neighbors feeling tired and insecure and immigrants living in inhumane conditions, while the new spaces have yet to be enabled. Nor do they have an opening date.

With the absence of Margarita Robles, the third minister to do so in just one week, the Government has opted for the path of fait accompli in its standoff with the Senate, dominated by the PP. The Executive denies that this is a “snub” following the migration crisis of July 30 in Ceuta — where 72,000 people crossed the border and more than 140 died — and claims that the ministers will attend “later.” The maneuver, however, allows it to freeze explanations in the hostile territory of the PP’s absolute majority until September, when more than a month will have passed since the tragedy.

The Partido Popular multiplied itself yesterday on all fronts to elevate the migration debate in Ceuta to the level of a state crisis. From the coast of Lugo to the border perimeter of the autonomous city, the opposition leadership coordinated its discourse to accuse Pedro Sánchez’s government of violating territorial integrity and to demand a structural shift that returns direct control of its borders to the Spanish institutions, moving the discussion from mere emergency management to a comprehensive questioning of the diplomatic strategy in North Africa.