Spanish actor Javier Bardem has brought the Western Sahara issue back to the forefront of public debate in Spain, criticizing successive Spanish governments’ positions on the territory and holding the United States and Israel responsible for what he considers encouragement for Morocco to exert increasing pressure on Spain, particularly through the migration issue.
In remarks to El Periódico de España while promoting his new film El Ser Querido, Bardem criticized what he described as Morocco’s stance, saying that “Morocco feels bolder than ever to exert the pressure it wants in the field of migration, with the aim of sowing chaos in a country that, in essence and in practice, it regards as opposed to it.”
The Spanish actor linked these practices to what he described as the “media and diplomatic” support Morocco receives from the governments of the United States and Israel. He cited a number of issues that he said are being used as tools to pressure Spain, including fishing agreements, border control, Algerian gas agreements, and, in particular, “the recognition of Western Sahara as Moroccan territory.”
Speaking about Western Sahara, Bardem stressed that, in his view, the issue represents a stark example of Spain’s abandonment of its historic responsibilities toward the Sahrawi people, leaving them at the mercy of “the aggressor,” referring to Morocco.
Bardem’s remarks come at a time of growing tensions in Spanish-Moroccan relations over the migration crisis in the city of Ceuta. The actor criticized what he described as Morocco’s “blackmailing” approach, arguing that the use of migration as a means of political pressure has reached the point of “shooting at desperate human beings.”
In further remarks to laSexta, Bardem said that among Spain’s basic needs is “control of its borders,” while criticizing what he described as Morocco’s repeated violations of human rights. He argued that, in the current situation, such practices are being used to destabilize one of the few progressive governments remaining in Europe.
Bardem’s positions carry particular media significance given his prominent presence in Spain’s cultural scene, his previous criticism of the policies of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, as well as his public positions on the war in Gaza and his continued and principled support for the Sahrawi people’s just struggle for independence.
The Spanish actor’s remarks once again highlight the contradiction between Spain’s historic responsibility toward Western Sahara, on the one hand, and the policy adopted by the current Spanish government toward the Moroccan proposal, on the other. The territory remains on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories, pending completion of the decolonization process.
These positions reaffirm that the Western Sahara issue remains present in Spain’s political and media debate, not only as a regional conflict, but also as an issue linked to Spain’s historic responsibility, its relations with Morocco, and matters of migration, security, and foreign policy.
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