S panien will help 500,000 immigrants who are currently living in the country without a residence or work permit. give papers. The minority ruling left-wing coalition under Pedro Sánchez negotiated this with the small, left-wing alternative Podemos.
It is a courageous decision in times of increasing rightward shift in our societies. While the center parties in other countries duck away and adopt parts of the anti-immigration discourse of the right-wing extremists à la Vox, Chega, Rassemblement National or AfD and thus hope to lose fewer votes to them, Sánchez is taking the opposite approach.
He stands up to the right with progressive issues. Whether this works remains to be seen. It is always ethical and moral. And it creates awareness among those who are not on the right and on the far right: No, we are not all the same. No, not all of us step down and buck up.
Sánchez is swimming against the tide with legalization. But it is not left-wing do-gooder politics that the Spanish Prime Minister is pursuing. It is a policy that Spain takes advantage of. The economy is booming. The growth rate is higher than anywhere else in the European Union. And to whom is this thanks? Of immigration.
While other European countries are tightening immigration regulations, the Sánchez government’s liberal stance on the issue has benefited Spain massively. In recent years, international economic experts have often pointed to Spain as a model. Around 600,000 immigrants come to the country every year. Unemployment is still decreasing because Spain’s economy needs workers. The migrants find accommodation primarily in the tourism industry, agriculture, but also in the construction industry and crafts. And as the number of employed people increases, so does domestic demand, which in turn contributes to growth.
The immigrants are no longer the cheap workers they once were, because under Sánchez the minimum wage rose by 60 percent. In addition, the possibility of setting employment contracts for a limited period was severely restricted. Yes too Social policy is possible in these times. And with this, Sánchez is also swimming against the tide.
Spain’s rights are once again raging in the face of this decision – nothing else could be expected. With their xenophobic view, they are unable to see one thing: the regularization of half a million is not just left-wing, but simply consistent.