Spanish Nationality Test: Would Feijóo Pass? Moroccan-Born Writer Challenges PP Leader
Writer Najat El Hachmi has sharply criticized Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of Spain’s People’s Party, who wants to tighten the requirements for obtaining Spanish nationality. Born in Morocco and now a Spanish citizen, she denounces rhetoric that, she says, fuels prejudice against people from immigrant backgrounds.
For Najat El Hachmi, hearing Alberto Núñez Feijóo say that Spanish nationality must be earned is insulting. In a column published Friday, November 13, in El País, the writer of Moroccan origin reminds him of the steps she personally went through to obtain her papers. She accuses the conservative leader of suggesting that foreigners benefit from easier treatment unavailable to Spaniards by birth.
The president of the People’s Party is advocating a new nationality law. Presented on November 10, its electoral platform proposes tightening residency requirements, language, history and constitutional knowledge requirements, as well as standards for good civic conduct. The PP also wants to make it easier to revoke acquired nationality in certain cases involving serious criminal convictions.
For Najat El Hachmi, these proposals ignore the reality of the existing procedures. She points to the tests required of applicants and the considerable number of supporting documents they must provide. She herself had to gather documents, wait in government offices and navigate lengthy formalities before becoming a Spanish citizen.
Her response turns particularly scathing when she accuses Feijóo of stoking hostility toward immigrants. The writer believes his rhetoric casts suspicion on naturalized citizens, as if their nationality were worth less than that of people born Spanish. She calls his stance racist and xenophobic, accusing him of speaking about populations rarely included in political debate.
