The Diplomat
One in five Spaniards predict that Ceuta and Melilla will be in Moroccan hands in 20 or 25 years’ time and 15.1% believe that, in fact, they are already “basically two Moroccan cities”, according to the barometer of the Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas (CIS) for the month of June.
The polling body chaired by José Félix Tezanos has included two specific questions on the two autonomous cities in its first barometer since the outbreak of the latest crisis with Morocco, which took place in mid-May, reports Europa Press.
Although a large majority of the sample (75.4%) maintains that Ceuta and Melilla are “two cities as Spanish as Malaga or A Coruña”, there are 15.1% who believe that, “deep down”, they are two “Moroccan” localities.
But when asked what will become of them in 2040 or 2045, only half (53.6%) are convinced that their status will not have changed and that they will continue to be part of Spain, while 20.3% believe that “they will have become part of Morocco”.