DR ‹ › While the Polisario Front struggles to garner new international recognition for its «Sahrawi Republic», it is making significant inroads within Spain's autonomous parliaments. Under Brahim Ghali's leadership, the movement has successfully rallied several regional legislative bodies to its cause, advocating for «independence», «self-determination», and the «organization of a referendum» in the Sahara. On Tuesday, March 3, the Catalan Parliament joined this effort by adopting a declaration in support of the Polisario's claims. Just the week before, the Basque Parliament's president held a ceremony to mark the «50th anniversary of the creation of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic». A few days prior, the Parliament of Navarre hosted a meeting of parliamentary groups backing the Polisario. In mid-February, the Canary Islands' legislative body also convened a similar gathering across the archipelago. This wave of support raises questions about Morocco's strategy in Spain. Despite the Spanish government's, particularly its socialist faction's, decision to distance itself from the Polisario since March 2022, and with foreign policy firmly in the hands of the central executive, Morocco seems relatively inactive at the level of Spain's autonomous communities. The twelve regions of Morocco should ramp up their efforts with regional parliaments to prevent the Polisario and its allies from gaining unchecked influence.
