“Until not long ago, Spain was also a country of immigrants, and many Spanish compatriots were looking elsewhere for a better life, a destiny that was impossible for them in their country”, recalled Pedro Sánchez, during a visit to Mauritania on August 27. It is a dissonant voice, with an empathetic and positive discourse on migration, which the socialist president of the Spanish government wants to make heard, in a Europe where most of the time it is only addressed through a prism of security.
In Mauritania, Gambia and Senegal, where he was looking for solutions to the migration crisis that the Canary Islands are experiencing (the number of immigrants arriving there has doubled since the beginning of the year, with 27,000 arrivals), Sánchez extolled the benefits of immigration. , as long as it was legal. “The contribution of immigrant workers to our economy, to our social system or to the sustainability of pensions is fundamental. For Spain, migration is synonymous with wealth, development and prosperity.”he stressed in Nouakchott. “ Contrary to the discourse that, unfortunately, is beginning to gain more and more importance in Europe, migration is not a problem, but a necessity, which entails certain problems. That is why we must manage the phenomenon of migration in a humane, safe and orderly manner for the benefit of our respective societies.”he added.
opposition protests
This speech, although immigration has become the main concern of Spaniards, according to the Center for Sociological Research, earned him reprimands from the leader of the opposition, Alberto Núñez Feijoo (Popular Party, right), who considered “irresponsible” the fact “to foster a pull effect during the worst irregular immigration crisis.”
Pedro Sánchez wants to offer a horizon to the exit candidates and a speech of tolerance towards the Spanish. In the three African countries, in addition to the usual cooperation programs, the head of Government concluded agreements aimed at developing “circular migration.” The idea of hiring workers in their home country to cover seasonal needs in certain sectors is not new. Since 2000, there have been circular migration programs between Spain and several countries, particularly Morocco, which each year sends several thousand women to work in the strawberry and red fruit plantations of Andalusia. People who participate in these programs can work up to nine months a year in Spain, for four consecutive years, at the end of which they can apply for a two-year residence permit.
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