The Iberian Peninsula is on fire. Both Portugal and Spain are facing an influx of illegal immigrants that has caused political polarization, national unrest, and rising nationalist sentiment.
While these movements are often dismissed as “far right” (whatever that means in 2024), the truth is much more nuanced. They arise from a basic, instinctive urge to protect our homeland, culture, and community from absolute chaos.
Spain and Portugal stand on the brink, staring into the abyss. Their leaders have repeatedly acted recklessly, opening doors that no one can close.
In Portugal, the rise of the Chega party captures this dramatic shift in national sentiment. The bill, aptly named “Enough is Enough!”, reflects utter contempt for a government that has not only failed to control immigration, but has also embraced an open borders policy. Mr. Chega's surge in electoral support is no coincidence. It makes perfect sense. After years of watching their communities transform, grappling with rising crime and enduring social tensions fueled by unchecked immigration, Portuguese people have had enough.
However, the damage may have already been done
becomes irreparable.
The colonizer is now colonized
Former Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa, current President-elect of the European CouncilHoracio Villalobos/Getty Images
For nearly a decade, Prime Minister António Costa took control and implemented some of the most liberal immigration policies in Europe. From coming to power in 2015 until his recent expulsion, Costa's government loosened the register of foreign workers, including those who entered the country illegally, and accelerated the transition to citizenship.
Although the media praised this as a progressive stance, it left the country vulnerable to a large influx of immigrants, particularly from economically disadvantaged countries such as Angola. The results were brutal. Within just five years, the immigrant population has skyrocketed.
70%. End by 2022 780,000 foreigners The number of people legally residing in Portugal has more than doubled since when Costa first took office.
And this number only includes the documented population. To put this into perspective, Portugal has a population of approximately 10 million people. This mass influx is equivalent to an influx of 26 million foreigners into the United States, three times the population of New York City. Let's think about it for a moment.
It's obvious to anyone with a functioning brain that Portugal is nervous. recent
demonstration In Lisbon, banners have been raised calling for the expulsion of migrants who have committed crimes, reflecting growing feelings of fear and resentment among the public.
In its desire to appear progressive, the Costa government failed to anticipate or manage the long-term consequences of its decisions. The social unrest currently rippling across the country is a direct result of these disastrous failures. Costa is gone, but the damage from his suicidal policies remains. In fact, the damage will continue to be unraveled for years to come, with potentially tragic consequences.
Adios, Spain
Across the border in Spain, the situation is even more dire, said immigration reform expert Michael McManus.
I observed. In 2023 alone, nearly 57,000 migrants entered Spain illegally, almost double the number from the previous year. The geographically isolated and economically vulnerable Canary Islands are bearing the brunt of this surge, with record numbers of boats arriving from West Africa.
North African and sub-Saharan migrants arrived in the Canary Islands last monthEurope Press News/Getty Images
As McManus warns, Spain's vulnerability lies in its geography. At its narrowest point, it is just nine miles from Africa, making it an easy target for smugglers and human traffickers.
The Spanish government's response was, for lack of a better word, brutal. The ruling PSOE (Spanish Socialist Labor Party) has prioritized a large-scale amnesty program for illegal immigrants and strengthened its open-door policy.
It is noteworthy that the PSOE has ruled modern democratic Spain longer than any other political party. The PSOE has dominated Spain's orbit for decades, under Felipe Gonzalez from 1982 to 1996, under Jose Luis Rodríguez Zapatero from 2004 to 2011, and again under Pedro Sánchez from 2018. I've been shaping it.
In other words, the Spanish people have repeatedly placed their future in the hands of a party that has presided over, and arguably accelerated, the country's slow decline. The tragic reality is that voters, through their continued support of the PSOE, are to some extent complicit in Spain's collapse.
As McManus points out, this is not the first time Spain has issued a large-scale amnesty. In 2005, the country granted amnesty to 800,000 illegal immigrants following the devastating Madrid terrorist attacks that killed 191 people. Rather than curb illegal immigration, the amnesty sent a clear message to the world. Specifically, migrants could enter Spain illegally and, if left undetected for a long time, could benefit from future legalization schemes. As a result, illegal crossings have skyrocketed. From 2005 to 2009, more than 55,000 illegal immigrants entered one of Europe's most famous countries.
The future seems bleak
Spain and Portugal stand on the brink, staring into the abyss. Their leaders have repeatedly acted recklessly, opening doors that no one can close. The demographic waves sweeping through these countries are not only changing their national character, but also erasing it. Once famous for its sunny beaches, the Iberian Peninsula is now shrouded in eerie shadows.
What is happening in Portugal and Spain reflects the harsh reality that grips Europe as a whole. This is not the birth of a multicultural society, but the slow and painful death of countries too blind and complacent to recognize mortal danger. I fear that Europe's heartbeat is weakening and may soon stop completely.
