No soldiers, no bullets, no euros for Ceuta and Melilla

Prises de position - Prese di posizione - Toma de posición - Statements - Prohlášení - Заявления

The situation is similar to that of 2021, but on a scale that seemed unthinkable at the time. Thousands of Moroccans, as well as migrants from sub-Saharan Africa and other countries, crossed the border into Ceuta in a move intended to simulate a kind of unarmed offensive against the city. We must not delude ourselves: this operation has little to do with a migratory movement, even though the migrants whom Morocco detains and represses near the border—precisely to use them as bargaining chips in this kind of situation—were mobilized alongside a large number of Moroccans brought in by the gendarmerie for the occasion. This operation follows in the footsteps of previous episodes, during which the Alawite state mobilized as many migrants as possible to put pressure on the Spanish border—but on a scale that brings it significantly closer to a reenactment of the 1975 Green March. On that occasion, tens of thousands of civilians were used to advance into Spanish territory—which today constitutes northern Morocco—as well as into Western Sahara, in order to annex them to the Crown of King Hassan II. The fact that, barely 24 hours later, most of the 60,000 people who had crossed the border returned of their own accord to Morocco demonstrates the highly organized nature of this movement, its symbolic significance as a threat to Ceuta, and the fact that it was a thoroughly premeditated maneuver. The toll stands at 67 dead (to date), thousands injured, and harrowing scenes in which groups of soldiers in civilian clothing and nationalist civilians of all kinds attacked not only migrants but also anyone with Arab features—whether Spanish or not—whom they encountered on the street.

While the operation carried out by Morocco in 2021—which was less organized and on a smaller scale than the one in recent days—had a clear motive, acknowledged by Morocco itself (Spain’s assistance to a Polisario Front official in conducting operations within the country), in the present case, the direct motivation seems less clear. Even the mainstream press points to the restoration of trade relations with Algeria, from which Spain will purchase 10% more gas this year than last year. However, this factor is likely just the straw that broke the camel’s back, following more than two years during which Spain’s economic and trade ties with powers such as China and Russia (which journalistic sources identify as the actual suppliers of Algerian gas) have strengthened.

Regardless of the justifications that may be put forward in the coming days, the reality is that the situation at the Moroccan border has been critical for a long time. As is well known, Spain has always maintained political, economic, diplomatic, and other relations based on a permanent balance of power. Morocco is currently the occupying power in Western Sahara, a region that, under international law, still belongs to Spain and for which, in any case, the United Nations demands a decolonization process that must lead to independence—a status recognized by Spain but not by Morocco. Although Spain has recognized Morocco’s claim to this territory since 2022, the conflict is far from resolved. Furthermore, over the past few decades, Morocco has become Spain’s main trading partner in North Africa, as it is now the top destination for Spain’s foreign investments. Many major Spanish companies are building and operating infrastructure in the Alawite kingdom, thereby creating a de facto alliance that constitutes one of the main ties between the two countries. Added to this is Morocco’s growing importance as the guardian of sub-Saharan migration routes through the Maghreb, making it a major political and military partner for Spain, given that the protection of the peninsula’s southern flank is directly linked to Morocco’s efforts to combat immigration.

Beyond bilateral relations—which alone are enough to make the borders of Ceuta and Melilla areas of significant instability—Morocco’s importance as an ally of the United States has also grown in recent years. On the one hand, the kingdom has been the leading advocate in the Arab world for the Abraham Accords, launched during Donald Trump’s first term and intended to consolidate Israel’s position in the Middle East with the support of regional powers such as Morocco, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and others, in exchange for lasting political, economic, and military stability. Today, little remains of these agreements following the 2023 Gaza War, this year’s war against Iran, and the other conflicts that have arisen since then. However, the United States’ desire to control the Middle East region with the support of Arab allies such as Morocco remains, and it has strengthened the ties between the United States, Morocco, and Israel. Indeed, the Middle East problem—a veritable incurable cancer of contemporary capitalism—now extends to the foothills of the Atlantic through Morocco and its resolute alignment with the American imperialist camp, giving the situation an increasingly pronounced intercontinental character.

It is this critical stance taken by Morocco—an extremely belligerent ally of the United States—that must be seen as the root cause of the assault on Ceuta in recent days. The tensions surrounding sovereignty over Ceuta are, to a certain extent, merely a pretext, given that Morocco could never lay claim to the territory by relying solely on its own forces. Behind this maneuver—sending thousands of unarmed civilians toward the city—lies the United States’ need to put an end to the rapprochement with China and its allies (which, of course, include Algeria and Russia) that a significant portion of the Spanish bourgeoisie, supported by the PSOE and SUMAR government, has been pursuing for the past two years, but behind which also lies the interest of other, far more powerful nations—such as France—eager to reduce their excessive dependence on the United States. The reaction of a country like Italy—already caught in an ambiguous position vis-à-vis the United States, of which it has been a historic defender in Europe, and which uses its anti-immigration rhetoric as a pretext to pressure Spain—is extremely significant.

The border with Morocco is the fault line along which imperialist tensions are spreading for Spain. This is due both to historical factors specific to the two countries and to the fact that, as the situation on the international stage worsens, all past conflicts are turning into battle lines for the future armed conflict that is already looming on the horizon. Spain’s imperialist interests are manifested in a nascent (and undoubtedly short-lived) rapprochement with China and its allies. This is dictated by Spain’s economic needs and its inability to compete on equal terms with its main trade rivals. But in a system of relations where everything is interconnected and rivalry is so intense, this shift toward China reignites cross-border conflicts with Morocco, leading to the sort of “attack” on Ceuta carried out by defenseless people, which we witnessed last Thursday and Friday. Such is Spain’s role in the escalation of imperialist tensions. And for the working class, this is a foretaste of what lies ahead in the coming years.

Under no circumstances should we assume that we are facing a situation in which Morocco—and its allies behind it—is the aggressor, while Spain is the victim. Spain is an imperialist power that strives to impose its interests in North Africa and acts as a global policeman by “protecting,” on behalf of all the imperialist powers, the Strait of Gibraltar and the global trade route that passes through it. To this end, it maintains pacts with Morocco, Algeria, and Mauritania, with the sole aim of defending the interests of the bourgeoisie, both nationally and internationally. These pacts notably include measures of pressure and repression against the masses of impoverished immigrants who seek in Europe a future that the capitalist order has denied them in their countries of origin. And in the events of the past few days, it was Morocco that struck the first blow, whereas on so many other occasions, it has been Spain. No one, therefore, can have the nerve to claim that Morocco is some kind of ruthless satrapic regime while Spain embodies humanity and civilization. In the rivalries between countries in the imperialist era, all the belligerents are equally criminal in the eyes of the proletariat. Of course, social democracy and Stalinism—whether in government or in opposition—will rally behind the slogan that Spain is under attack by criminal forces from Morocco (or even the United States), but the defense of democratic values to which they appeal is nothing more than a defense of Spanish imperialist interests.

Today, it is crowds of unarmed civilians—abandoned to their fate by Morocco—who have been thrown onto the front lines. Morocco has gambled with their lives in order to advance its own interests and those of its allies. For its part, Spain has merely sent in reinforcements without combat orders, while allowing the Legion and other military units stationed in Ceuta to carry out raids against immigrants and the city’s indigenous Arab population. But in the future, the conflict will intensify. The masses of unarmed civilians will transform into armies that will threaten the interests of the national capitalists—whether in Ceuta, on the Eastern Front in Europe, or in any other hotspot for the Spanish bourgeoisie. And in the face of this threat, the bourgeoisie will react by mobilizing its own population—its proletariat—to defend its economic, political, or territorial claims.

War is the future of the proletariat. It will not be long—not even several decades—before the various imperialist powers, including Spain, reach the point where their economic, commercial, and other disputes can be settled only by military means. To this end, they will call upon—as the Moroccan bourgeoisie has just done—their own people, the proletariat, to swell the ranks of their armies and throw themselves against the armies of proletarians armed by rival bourgeoisies. We do not need to go very far back in time to recall the two world wars that ravaged Europe. Yet the wars to come, in a world that has developed a capacity for armaments infinitely superior to that of the past, will be a hundred times more deadly—especially for the proletarian class!

Today, the working class remains a prisoner of its own bourgeoisie. Decades of submission to the policy of class collaboration imposed on it by socialist, Stalinist, and post-Stalinist opportunism have made it easy prey for nationalist rhetoric, the so-called “defense of the fatherland,” and hatred of the “invading immigrant”… And, amid this widespread silence, patriotic and militaristic slogans are being heard, while nationalist gangs are reappearing with the aim of imposing order on the streets.

But the proletarian class can be kept within the bounds of respect for the bourgeois order only temporarily, never permanently. Its interests are diametrically opposed to those of the bourgeoisie, and while it may have seemed for a time that the two classes coexisted peacefully (with the proletariat always bearing the brunt of this “pact”), the reality of a world where workers are the slaves of their bosses will sooner or later emerge in all its brutality.

Tomorrow, the bourgeoisie will demand that the proletariat die in the name of the fatherland—a cruel euphemism that always conceals the reality of sacrifice for the greater glory of economic profit. In doing so, it will reveal its true face and show that, in the capitalist world, the proletariat is nothing more than cannon fodder, good only to be exploited in times of peace and destroyed in times of war. The proletarian class must then raise the banner of proletarian internationalism—the banner of refusal to participate in imperialist slaughter and of rejection of any national solidarity with its own bourgeoisie. Only by rallying to this banner, only by defending its true class interests on all fronts, will it be able to free itself from the horror and destruction of millions of lives that the capitalist class is already preparing today.

In light of the events of recent days and those that will unfold in the near future, the working class has nothing to defend in Ceuta and Melilla. The struggle for these two enclaves—like the struggle for control of the Strait of Gibraltar or the Canary Islands—is of interest only to the Spanish bourgeoisie, which needs them to maintain the status quo in its rivalry with other imperialist powers. That is why, beyond nationalist rhetoric, beyond hatred of immigrants and the rhetoric used “against the invader,” the working class must reject any form of alliance with the national bourgeoisie; they must refuse any sacrifice demanded of them to defend the territorial interests of national capitalism and turn their gaze toward their true enemy—the one who is now beginning to push them toward a larger-scale mobilization, one that will not be peaceful and that will require them to sacrifice their own lives and those of their children.

Let us oppose bourgeois militarism with the strength of proletarian internationalism!

Long live internationalism and proletarian solidarity against all imperialists!

Il comunista - le prolétaire - el proletario - proletarian - programme communiste - el programa comunista - Communist Program