Certainly, Senator Carles Mulet of the Compromis coalition (Més-Compromis, and VerdsEquo), does not miss a moment when it comes to Morocco to corner the Spanish government. Last release date of this stubborn, the sales of Spanish weapons in Morocco since 1991. A date, you understood it, of a cease-fire which ceased to be for some time by the good will of the polisario of which the man believes himself to be obliged.
To do this, Carles Mulet saw fit to reproach the government of Pedro Sanchez for having continued to supply arms “in a massive way” to Morocco after the ceasefire with the Polisario Front in 1991. This is a little too daring, because political power in Spain has passed from hand to hand since the last century. Also, the Spanish Executive this time was quick to respond to the cheeky and in gender and numbers please. The various successive Spanish governments during this period allegedly passed on to the neighbor to the south a whopping 385 million euros in “all-Spanish weapons and equipment”. Sales with a very low volume compared to the markets where Morocco is supplied, such as the American, French or those of the United Kingdom, Germany or Italy…
In its official response Madrid indicated that 165 million euros of these sales were for land military vehicles, 98 million euros for ammunition and military equipment, while missiles, bombs and torpedoes were around 34 million euros. euros. Spain sold the Royal Armed Forces drones for 10 million euros, equipment for 6.6 million euros, as well as energy supplies and related materials (1.3 million euros) 12.7 caliber weapons, electronic equipment, armored or protective equipment. 2008 is considered a reference year and Spanish military sales to Morocco cost 113.9 million euros. They had focused exclusively on the supply of land vehicles. But Carles Mulet, who only wants us well, it is well known, has never ceased in his stubbornness to warn about the rearmament of Morocco and to challenge the Spanish Executive on the measures it is taking to in the face of a possible Moroccan attack. “If Morocco is today a threat against the integrity of the State, or if it continues to massacre the Sahrawi people, it is thanks to the weapons provided to it by Spain.“, he denounced omitting in passing the construction of a patrol boat by the Spanish public company Navantia for 150 million euros, ordered for the Royal Moroccan Navy in January 2021.
Armament acquisitions are often announced abroad by the suppliers themselves or by the international media, but never by senators in the pay of arms lobbies, as is well known. That of Spain, on which Carles Mulet feeds, is coincidentally very involved in the conflicts that affect North Africa, and in the potential one that we want to make public opinion believe that could arise between the Spain and some countries in the region, notably Morocco. Spain is by far a superior military power to these countries ranging from Mauritania to Egypt and therefore, this excludes the possibility of a short or medium term war scenario. Even for Sebta and Melillia this eventuality has no reason to exist, Morocco currently having a recovery strategy based on negotiation, co-sovereignty and joint Hispano-Moroccan socio-economic agreements for the entire region. .
That said, it is well known that the Spanish arms lobby, which sees these conflicts in neighboring regions as a lucrative market, gets involved by selling arms to all the suitors, whether real or potential. The arms race between Algeria and Morocco suggesting significant market shares for the sale of military equipment by Spanish consortia. The latter (EADSCASA, Navantia, Airbus Military, Indra Sistemas, Santa Bárbara Sistemas, AEXPAL, MBBDA missile company, etc.) in two decades have been invested by a wave of appointments of senior state officials, ministers, directors generals, secretaries and undersecretaries, as well as retired senior military commanders, who turned to the arms industry and military export associations (more than thirty generals and senior officials landed in the area).
To make their money, they have built their media marketing through a propaganda of received ideas according to which “Spain is in danger”, “Morocco threatens Sebta and Melilla”, “the Israelis are breaking the Hispano-Moroccan balance by favor of Rabat”, Morocco acquires arms which give it superiority over Spain”, “the United States will transfer its Rota base to Morocco”, “the Algerian and Moroccan navies break the ‘status quo’ in the Strait of Gibraltar, leaving Spain cornered”, etc. But, oh paradox, at the same time as they are crying wolf, they are supplying it with mortar shells, plastic explosives, tank chains, spare parts for planes, ammunition… and hey! they even build him an Avante-class offshore patrol boat built by Navantia. An ethical and moral hypocrisy that allows this lobby to influence the Spanish state and regional geopolitics. Spain ended up in eighth place among arms sellers with 4 billion euros in 2019.
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