Tinejdad, Morocco- After the recent racist and xenophobic statements against Moroccan immigrants in the Netherlands made by the far-right politician Geert Wilders, the right-wing Spainish Javier Maroto, mayor of the Basque city of Vitoria-Gasteiz, accused Moroccan and Algerian immigrants in Spain, of fraud, according to Spanish radio station Cadena Ser.
The Spanish official accused Moroccans and Algerians of benefiting from the social aid provided by Spain, with no intention of working.
“Some nationalities in this city live only from the social aid they receive and have no interest whatsoever in working being integrated,” he noted.
He told the radio host that while he has no qualms with providing aid to people, he made it clear that the aid should be provided in kind, adding that most of the money giving to people who are unemployed end up in Moroccan or Algerian banks.
But while he launched his diatribes against Moroccans and Algerians last week, the Spanish official failed to provide details on the number of cases in which they are allegedly involved.
Maroto twitted “The social assistance system should be reviewed for improvement. Solidarity, yes. Abuse, no.”
El sistema de ayudas sociales debe ser revisado para mejorarse. Solidaridad, si. Abuso, no (La Ser, desde min 15:30) http://t.co/bD6TYgZmzG
— Javier Maroto (@JavierMaroto) July 15, 2014
The statements of the Mayor of the Basque city of Vitoria-Gasteiz stirred controversy and created a buzz on social media. Reacting to Maroto’s tweet, @kurdingclub commented, “Very big, Javier Maroto explaining the reality of many Algerians and Moroccans that come here to take advantage and contribute nothing.”
Muy grande @JavierMaroto explicando la realidad de muchos argelinos y marroquíes que vienen a aprovecharse y no aportan nada . — kurdingclub (@kurdingclub) July 16, 2014
While most of the comments support the Mayor’s intention to reform the social aid system, a tweet by Elesa Moreno disproved of his over generalization.
“Please don't generalize, some Moroccans spent years living here contributing and paying taxes like any other Spaniards,” the tweet reads.
@JavierMaroto porfavor no generalices algunos marroquies llevan años viviendo aqui cotizando y pagando impuestos como cualquier español
— Elsa Moreno (@ElsaMoren0) July 16, 2014
Another tweets reads, “The mayor Javier Maroto is sticking his head into the national press, raising the flag of xenophobia towards Maghrebans.”
El alcalde @JavierMaroto asomando la cabecita en la prensa nacional haciendo bandera de la xenofobia hacia los magrebíes. #orgullodeciudad
— David Pejenaute (@DPeje) July 16, 2014
The racial attacks of the Mayor were limited to the Algerian and Moroccan community, sparking a wave of protests organized by the Spanish Human Rights Organizations, accusing the Spanish of inciting xenophobia.
The organizations also demanded that the Spanish state should open an investigation on the official's racist remarks, which targeted Moroccans and Algerians without the rest of other nationalities living in Spain.