Spanish party disavows leader’s statements on Morocco
The Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) sought to distance itself from the views on Morocco expressed by a member of the government. This past week, Yolanda Díaz, the second vice-president of the Spanish government and leader of the new political party SUMAR, made controversial statements about Morocco.
During a press conference at the party’s headquarters in Ferraz, Pilar Alegría, the PSOE spokeswoman and Minister of Education, emphasized that Díaz’s opinions were her own and did not reflect the party’s stance.
Alegría pointed out that the roadmap of the Spanish-Moroccan declaration of April 7th of last year, and the recent High-Level Meeting (HLM) between the two countries, clearly indicated the strong ties between Spain and Morocco. According to El Mundo, the Socialist spokeswoman noted that the HLM covered crucial topics for both nations.
The leader of SUMAR claimed that Díaz’s absence from the summit, where the two countries signed 18 Memorandums of Understanding in different sectors, was a “political decision.”
Alegría’s comments came after Díaz referred to Morocco as a “dictatorship” in an interview aired on La Sexta. The vice-president also stated that if she were to govern Spain, she would break the agreement reached between Spain and Morocco. Díaz stated: “I understand that we must take our neighbor Morocco seriously, but we must also acknowledge that Morocco is what it is”.
Since the agreement, Spain’s relations with Morocco have considerably improved. This new phase in the connection between Madrid and Rabat has led to greater bilateral cooperation in fields such as trade, tourism, and culture.
