Spanish Socialists Reject Bill to Grant Nationality to Western Sahara-Born Residents

At Tuesday’s session in Congress, Pedro Sanchez’s PSOE did not vote in favor of this bill initiated by Podemos, which calls for granting nationality by naturalization to Sahrawis born in the Sahara while the territory was still under Spanish sovereignty, that is, until 1976. Despite the opposition of the Socialists, the bill was taken into consideration thanks to the votes of the deputies of the Popular Party (PP), Ciudadanos, ERC, PNV and Bildu who supported Podemos. The far-right party Vox, for its part, abstained, reports Ok Diario.

During the plenary debate, the Socialists raised legal and technical issues. "We share the objective, which is to put an end to the offense suffered by the Sahrawis compared to other historical communities, but we do not share the conception," said Sergio Gutiérrez, the Socialist spokesman. Once again, Podemos has managed to irritate the Spanish government with the Sahara issue, which is very sensitive for Morocco. Pedro Sanchez declared in March 2022 his support for the Moroccan autonomy plan for the Sahara, putting an end to a long diplomatic crisis between the two countries.