Pedro Sánchez goes on vacation to Morocco while war drums sound in the Sahel, an infinite strip of desert whose westernmost confines are not far from Marrakech, a place chosen by the acting president and his family to spend a few days off. The gates of the desert are not far from the Jemaa el Fna square.
2,200 kilometers away in a straight line is Niamey, the capital of Niger, the world’s fourth largest producer of uranium, a country that Russia is about to seize from France -and the United States-, in an operation of great strategic depth that began a decade ago. , with orbital effects now verifiable in the Central African Republic, Mali and Burkina Faso. All these countries have radically distanced themselves from France and now have Russian mercenaries on their territory. The entire region is subject to seismic movements. A group of soldiers from Sierra Leone has just been arrested on charges of preparing a coup. This episode may be part of the same seismic chain or be an opportunistic maneuver by those in power. Sierra Leone, founded by freed West Indian slaves, was never French, it was a British colony and protectorate. Yes, French flags have been burned these days in Senegal. Most of these countries have agreements with Spain to control irregular immigration.
There are war drums south of Marrakech. A meeting of the military leadership of the countries that make up the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) began yesterday in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, to study the situation in Niger. Nigeria could lead a military operation to restore the ousted president, Mohamed Bazoum, to power in the hands of the coup leaders. If Nigeria and other allied countries intervene in Niger, with the presumed support of France, the military that has seized power could ask for help from Mali, Burkina Faso and the Wagner Brigade, now under the direct control of the Russian Defense Ministry. In the last few hours, various countries have spoken. Algeria, the main military power in North Africa, has issued a statement distancing itself from the coup in Niger, but warning against any kind of foreign military action. The Mauritanian government has spoken in the same direction. The military junta of the Republic of Guinea (Guinea Conackry), a country that belongs to Ecowas, has expressed its support for the Niger junta. Morocco, watch. At this time, both are measuring forces.
Last Thursday, Sánchez was still able to speak by phone with Mohamed Bazoum, hours after the coup, led by the presidential guard, began. Spain has police officers stationed in Niamey to help control immigration routes.
The acting president, therefore, has traveled to Morocco with full knowledge of what is happening in the Sahel. It is a private trip, paid for out of his own pocket, which in principle does not include any meeting or discreet interview with the Moroccan authorities. Nothing to object to, despite the great uproar in the Madrid conservative press, which these weeks lives without living itself. Madrid DF has not yet digested the result of the July 23 elections.
Nothing to object to, but a private vacation for the President of the Spanish Government in Morocco is a political act. Those vacations are the focus of attention in a political waiting period with many smoke signals. Aware of this, Sánchez is sending a clear message of complicity with Morocco, the pivot of West Africa, together with Nigeria. Morocco has just closed a strategic agreement with Israel, while the Sahel is on fire and Algeria is making efforts to join the BRICS group of countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa).
Sánchez’s vacations are private and political. The Popular Party makes a fuss during the day to please its own and at night it sends messages in Morse code to Rabat to keep them calm. It’s the summer of Morse messages. They have also been sent to Waterloo.
