Anti-migrant clashes rock Spanish town amid calls for mass deportations

Spain was the scene of violent unrest over the weekend as anti-migrant tensions boiled over.

Torre Pacheco, a town near Murcia in the south-east of Spain, saw several people hurt as groups armed with batons and knives roamed the streets looking for people with foreign origins. Far-right elements are being blamed for the violence.

Videos posted on social media show men dressed in clothes bearing far-right symbols and migrants carrying Moroccan flags hurling objects at each other in the center of the town. Footage also showed damage to vehicles, rubbish containers and barricades in flames despite major police presence.

Mariola Guevara, a central government delegate in the Murcia region, said officials responded after detecting posts that had incited a planned "hunt for migrants".

The town’s Mayor, Pedro Ángel Roca, said one person had been arrested. Roca added that most of the people taking part in the riots had come from other areas.

The clashes followed several days of lower-intensity unrest in the town after a 68-year-old man was the victim of a violent assault on July 9. The pensioner told local media that he’d been attacked by three individuals of North African origin while out for a walk. The reasons behind the assault are unclear and no one has been arrested in connection. A video of the incident was not only filmed but also uploaded on social media.

According to local government data, migrants make up about 30% of the population in the town, about twice the average in Spain. The area around the town also hosts large numbers of migrants who work as day labourers in agriculture, one of the pillars of the regional economy.

The region of Murcia has been under the spotlight lately. Less than two weeks ago, Murcia's government had to backtrack on a proposal to buy housing to accommodate unaccompanied migrant minors. This after the ruling conservative People's Party (PP) was threatened by the far-right Vox party.

Vox has been upping the ante of late. The face of the far-right on July 8th called for the mass deportation of migrants, both recent arrivals and naturalised citizens. Rocio De Meer, Vox’s national spokesperson decried “the millions of people who have contributed to insecurity”, insisting they will “have to return to their countries”.

De Meer went on to describe the calls for mass deportations as “an extraordinarily complex process of remigration”. Reiterating that they have “the right to survive as a people”.

Vox leader Santiago Abascal echoed these sentiments on X. Abascal said the party intends to deport “everyone who came to commit crimes, to impose a foreign religion, who mistreats or demeans women”. Furthermore Abascal targeted unaccompanied minors, “because minors have to be with their parents”.

While Vox remains far from gaining majority power, its popularity has grown amid recent corruption scandals involving the ruling Socialist Party. The main opposition Popular Party has expressed reluctance to form a coalition with Vox. But hasn't explicitly ruled it out. It, however, did reject the proposed deportation plan.

PP Secretary General Miguel Tellado told local media that Spain already has immigration laws that must be enforced. Furthermore, Tellado called for “measured” immigration policies aligned with European Union guidelines.

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Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez emphasised Spain’s history of emigration when responding to the July 8 call for mass deportations. Sánchez reaffirmed that Spain is “a land of welcome, and those who arrive contribute with their effort to building a better Spain”.

Migration and asylum have been contentious issues in the European Union for some time now contributing to the rise of far-right political forces across the bloc. For now, pro-EU parties continue to dominate politics in Brussels and the risk that Eurosceptics can create gridlock remains low.

In the European Parliament, the centrist coalition that backed Ursula von der Leyen for a second term as European Commission President will hold together despite growing tensions.

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But two years from now, things could look very different.

Far-right parties will have their best-ever shot at capitalising on mounting voter anger with national elections in France, Italy, Spain, and Poland.