At least 72 migrants died this week attempting to enter the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, with some drowning and others killed in a stampede at a breakwater barrier. Spanish civil guard ships continue to search for bodies in the waters near the urban beach that thousands breached. The sudden rush of 50,000 to 60,000 unauthorized arrivals, mostly young men, swelled Ceuta’s population by more than half. Most of these individuals, desperate for a chance at survival, had walked back to Morocco by Sunday, but some remained in the hills around the city. Ceuta shops reopened, and its usual mix of residents and tourists filled open-air terraces, restaurants, and cafes, but the enclave was still dealing with the aftermath of the border surge.
The State's Border Regime
The border was effectively open, according to some migrants who returned to Morocco, with authorities doing little as they watched thousands of people cross. Mohamad Abdelkader Driss, a 44-year-old waiter in Ceuta, stated, “It’s not the young men’s fault. If you open the border, of course everyone comes in, but the young men aren’t to blame. The authorities are responsible.” He added that the situation “could have been much worse.” The state apparatus, through its border policies, dictates who may move and who must remain, often with deadly consequences for those seeking to escape economic precarity. This control over labor movement serves the interests of capital by maintaining a reserve army of labor and suppressing wages.
Capital's Divisive Tactics
As the human cost mounted, far-right, anti-immigrant Spanish politicians and right-wing influencers descended on Ceuta over the weekend. Their presence ignited counterprotests, including members of Ceuta’s large Muslim population, many of whom are of Moroccan descent. Alvise Pérez, a far-right Spanish politician and member of the European Parliament, called on Saturday evening for migrants to be expelled. He faced an angry crowd of rival protesters, eventually sheltering in a bar until police escorted him away. Noor Ahmed, a 20-year-old Ceuta resident and student, described the protest and the presence of figures like Pérez as opportunistic. “They just want to take advantage of the humanitarian crisis Ceuta is currently experiencing,” Ahmed said. Santiago Abascal, leader of the far-right Vox party, visited Ceuta on Sunday, labeling the migrant surge an “invasion.” He declared, “The frontiers of Ceuta and Melilla are the walls of our home and homeland, and they are not being protected by a corrupt and traitorous government.” Eva Barrientos, a Ceuta resident working at a logistics company, attended the protest to hear the right-wing figures. She claimed, “In Ceuta, we have always lived together. We have four cultures living very well, without any problems. But the only thing we are realizing now is that there is an enemy within.” Barrientos accused some foreign-born residents of having more loyalty to Morocco than to Spain, echoing the divisive rhetoric used to turn workers against each other. This tactic serves to deflect attention from the systemic failures that create such crises.
Empty Words from Above
Pope Leo XIV, whose priorities include migration, stated on Sunday that he was “following with concern the alarming situation in Ceuta.” He asked God “that solutions of peace, stability and justice may be found.” This religious leader’s call for abstract solutions offers no material challenge to the economic structures that compel migration or the state policies that enforce deadly borders. His recent visit to the Canary Islands, another major migrant entry port, similarly produced no concrete action to dismantle the system. While Ceuta shops reopened and its terraces filled, the underlying contradictions of a global system that produces both immense wealth and desperate migration remain. The state's primary function here was to manage the crisis, protect accumulated wealth by controlling labor movement, and suppress challenges to the existing distribution of power, even as human lives were lost.