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  • 2 days ago
A wave of anti-migrant violence has rocked Torre Pacheco, a small town in southeastern Spain, after an assault on a local man sparked nights of tension between far-right groups and North African migrant communities. This video covers: What triggered the unrest and how social media fueled the chaos and how far-right organizations organized protests. Four nights of riots, dozens of arrests, and growing polarization - find out the full story behind Torre Pacheco’s troubled week and what it means for Spain’s future.

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00:00Tore Pachoque, a town of 40,000 in the southeastern region of Murtia city in Spain,
00:16has seen at least three nights of unrest between far-right groups
00:21and immigrant residents, mainly of Moroccan origin.
00:25Several days of unrest in a Spanish town have highlighted rising tensions over immigration,
00:34an issue which the far-right has pushed to the center stage.
00:39According to officials, 14 people have so far been arrested.
00:43The violence was sparked by the assault of a 68-year-old man on 9th of July.
00:56He told Spanish media, three men of North African descent attacked him without provocation.
01:03In response, the local governing body or town hall, led by the Conservative Popular Party,
01:10organized a protest against insecurity on 17th of July.
01:14The demonstration escalated when far-right groups joined in, chanting anti-immigrant slogans.
01:21Clashes have broken out on several nights since,
01:25though a strong police presence helped prevent serious confrontations.
01:30The authorities said 14 people have so far been detained,
01:35including three men, suspected of involvement in the assault of the 68-year-old,
01:40who do not live in Tore Pachoque.
01:43Among those arrested was a leader of the far-right group called Deport Them Now,
01:48which had called online for a quote-unquote hunt of immigrants in the town.
01:53The mayor of Tore Pachoque appealed for calm and warned against blaming the town's immigrant community
02:04for the incident.
02:06Around 30% of Tore Pachoque's population is foreign-born,
02:10with many working in the region's key agriculture sector.
02:14But the far-right Vox party, the third-largest force in Spain's parliament,
02:20has stepped up its anti-immigrant rhetoric.
02:24Vox's regional leader, Jose Angel Antillo,
02:27blamed the unrest on quote-unquote illegal immigration,
02:31claiming that migrants had assorted the elderly
02:34and committed sexual violence against women.
02:38Vox's national leader, Santiago Abascal,
02:40called for immediate deportations in response to what he called
02:44a quote-unquote criminal migrant invasion.
02:48Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's Social Party
02:51strongly condemned the remarks accusing Vox party
02:55of pouring fuel on the fire.
02:58Prosecutors have opened an investigation into Antelow's statement
03:02to see if they constitute a hate crime.
03:06A political scientist at Madrid Complutense University,
03:09Paloma Roman, told AFP News Agency,
03:12this is a clear example of growing tension
03:15over immigration issues in Spain.
03:28Traditionally a country of immigrants,
03:30Spain has seen a recent influx of foreign arrivals
03:33as living standards improved.
03:35In 1998, there were 637,000 foreigners in the country,
03:41about 1.6% of the total population.
03:45There are 6.95 million today,
03:48or 14% of the total,
03:50including some 920,000 Moroccans,
03:54the largest foreign community.
03:56Spain's leftist government,
03:58which aims to regularise up to 300,000 undocumented migrants
04:02per year through to 2027, argues immigration
04:06helps offset population decline
04:08and fills gaps in the labour market.
04:12Sánchez is the only leader of a major European nation
04:15to champion migration and its economic benefits
04:18even as several countries move to tighten their borders
04:21against newcomers.
04:23According to Spain's National Statistics Institute,
04:28immigration has been a key driver of Spain's buoyant economy,
04:32which grew 3.2% last year.
04:35A recent Ipsos poll found that only 34% of Spaniards
04:40feel the country would be stronger with fewer migrants,
04:44the lowest figure in the European Union.
04:47Still, social tensions are mounting.
04:49Roman linked the trend to the rise of the far-right,
04:53which has placed immigration at the centre of its agenda.
04:57Vox Party has seized on public unease,
05:00recently proposing a sweeping re-migration plan
05:03to deport foreign nationals.
05:06Roman said,
05:07in a country whose growth depends on immigration,
05:10this is somewhat contradictory.
05:12Roman attributed the polarisation of a political tug-of-war
05:16between the mainstream Conservative Popular Party and Vox Party.
05:20She added that this is compounded by corruption scandals
05:24that have weakened Sánchez's government.

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