Spanish outlet calls for reclaiming northern Morocco and Western Sahara

A Spanish-language opinion outlet has published a commentary calling on Madrid to reclaim northern Morocco, the former colony of Ifni, and Western Sahara, reviving a long-dormant debate over Spain’s former colonial presence in northwest Africa.

The piece, carried by Contando Estrelas, frames the three territories as unfinished business from the era of Spanish imperial expansion. Northern Morocco was administered by Spain as a protectorate from 1912 until Moroccan independence in 1956, a period that included the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, which remain under Spanish sovereignty today and continue to be a source of friction between Madrid and Rabat. Ifni, a small coastal enclave on Morocco’s Atlantic coast, was held by Spain until 1969, when it was ceded to the Moroccan crown. Western Sahara, the largest of the three, was administered by Madrid as a colony until 1975, when Spain withdrew under the terms of the Madrid Accords.

A long-running territorial dispute

The question of Western Sahara remains one of Africa’s most protracted territorial conflicts. Following Spain’s withdrawal, Morocco annexed roughly two-thirds of the territory, while the Polisario Front proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic in the remaining eastern portion. A UN-backed referendum on self-determination promised under a 1991 ceasefire settlement has never been held, and the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) remains deployed in the area. Morocco’s autonomy proposal, presented in 2007, has not been accepted by the Polisario Front or its backers, and the United States formally recognised Morocco’s sovereignty over the territory in 2020.

The arguments advanced by Contando Estrelas sit far outside mainstream Spanish political discourse, where relations with Morocco are generally managed through quiet diplomacy and economic cooperation. The commentary is likely to draw sharp criticism in both Madrid and Rabat, given the sensitivity of the territorial disputes and the depth of bilateral trade and migration ties between the two countries.

Sources

This report was written from coverage published by the following news organisations. Follow the links for the original reporting.

• Contando Estrelas — It’s time to reclaim northern Morocco, Ifni, and Western Sahara for Spain