Abascal takes his offensive for Ceuta to the extreme and accuses Sánchez of acting as "an agent of the Moroccan government"

The leader of the far-right Vox party, Santiago Abascal, has taken advantage of the Ceuta migration crisis to launch a new offensive against Pedro Sánchez this Friday. The far-right leader has accused the president of acting as "an agent of the Moroccan Government," has spoken of a supposed "institutionalized kidnapping" of minors, and has once again used the terms "invasion" and "betrayal" to refer to the massive entry recorded on July 30 and 31.

Abascal has focused a good part of his statements to the media on the statement issued by Morocco, which denies any responsibility for what happened and assures it is willing to readmit people who entered Ceuta irregularly, including minors.

The president of Vox has admitted that he "does not believe" Rabat's version, although he has accepted Morocco's offer on repatriations as true to criticize the Spanish Executive. "Why does Sánchez want to keep them and send them to the autonomous communities?" he asked.

"The Government should urgently respond to that, because it gives the impression that here they want to maintain massive immigration and the institutionalized kidnapping of minors," said Abascal, who also did not explain on what basis he attributes this supposed objective to the Government.

Ceuta and minors as a battering ram against Sánchez

The expression used by the far-right leader conceals that migrant minors who arrive alone in Spain are placed under the protection of public administrations. Their stay in reception facilities responds to this legal obligation, and repatriation cannot be carried out automatically merely because Morocco announces its willingness to receive them.

Spanish legislation allows return when it favors the best interest of the minor, but requires studying each case, ascertaining their family circumstances, listening to them if they have sufficient maturity, and gathering reports from protection services and the Public Prosecutor's Office. The resolution must also determine whether there is effective family reunification or adequate conditions for the protection services of the country of origin to assume their guardianship.

Abascal has ignored these guarantees by presenting the reception of minors as a deliberate retention and by suggesting that the Government pursues some hidden purpose. His most serious accusation has come through social media, where he has directly placed Sánchez at the service of Rabat.

The leader of Vox has also held Morocco responsible for having taken advantage of, encouraged, and allowed the massive entry. According to his account, the neighboring country sent three ministers those days to make statements about Ceuta and Melilla while thousands of people crossed the border. Rabat denies having promoted the events and has rejected being made a "scapegoat" for the Spanish political dispute.

Abascal has also extended his accusations to the central government, which he considers responsible for having allowed the entry and subsequently abandoning the people of Ceuta. To support this offensive, he has demanded that Gonzalo Sanz, the former Chief of Staff of the Government delegate in Ceuta, testify before the courts.

Sanz submitted his resignation this Friday after assuring that he communicated to his superior the warnings sent by the National Intelligence Center on July 29. His version clashes with that offered by the delegate, Miguel Ángel Pérez Triano, regarding his knowledge of these warnings.

Abascal expects Sanz to explain to the Justice system what information he conveyed and to whom he communicated it. In his opinion, the Executive has "thrown him to the lions" because he would be a "fuse" that can be dispensed with. The National Court maintains an open investigation to clarify what alerts the different institutions handled and how they acted before the massive entry.

The tone used against Sánchez has coexisted with a very different message towards the president of the PP. Asked about his relationship with Alberto Núñez Feijóo, Abascal has assured that both maintain a "cordial and permanent" contact and a normal treatment that he considers "very important for Spain". He has also ruled out that the Ceuta crisis has caused any change between the two leaders.

Electoral suspicions and a fiscal "electroshock"

Abascal's offensive has extended to the electoral arena. The far-right leader has demanded "guarantees" that the next elections "cannot be stolen" after the Supreme Court adopted precautionary measures regarding the registration in the Census of Absent Residents of some people naturalized through the so-called 'grandchildren's law'.

The court keeps the electoral effects of certain registrations in suspense until there is a ruling. The measure excludes from suspension those who prove, by consular certification, that they are descendants of Spanish exiles under the conditions set forth in the Democratic Memory Law.

The resolution is limited to the precautionary sphere and leaves the existence of fraud out of its conclusions. Nor does it declare that the Government has tried to manipulate elections. A magistrate issued a dissenting opinion, considering that the measure affects the right to vote of Spanish citizens and rests on hypothetical risks linked to future electoral processes.

Abascal has gone much further than the court and has accused the Executive of wanting to alter the census "fraudulently and at the service of the PSOE". He has also maintained that Sánchez would be willing to use "all the levers of power, legal and illegal", to remain in Moncloa.

In the same appearance, he asked the Supreme Court to dedicate itself solely to applying the law, but immediately afterwards he accused the Constitutional Court of following "party political theses" and of "kidnapping institutions." The ultra leader thus once again extended his suspicions about electoral processes and courts without providing evidence of manipulation organized by the Government.

His agenda for the day also included an economic promise. During a conference on deregulation held in Congress, Abascal guaranteed that the far-right Vox will demand tax cuts in all budgets of the four communities where it governs alongside the PP: Andalusia, Aragon, Castilla y León, and Extremadura.

The president of Vox called for an "electroshock" for the Spanish economy based on strong tax cuts and a reduction of regulations affecting businesses. He did so alongside American economist Arthur Laffer, an advisor to Ronald Reagan and known for the curve that bears his surname. Laffer argued during the event that the rich "are not the enemy" and closed his speech by addressing Abascal with a personal compliment. "Santiago, you are my hero," he told him.