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Date Published: 25/05/2023

Is Spain a racist country?

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The well publicised racial attacks on footballer Vinicius Jr have sparked a wider debate about racism in Spain

Spain has long been considered the idyllic getaway for expats from all over Europe and the rest of the world, a multi-cultural melting pot that attracts foreign retirees, new entrepreneurs and the ordinary emigrant searching for a slower pace and a relaxed new life in the sun.

Supermarkets, restaurants and bars specialising in produce and products from every nation imaginable have sprung up across the country, but underneath this seemingly open and welcoming facade, is there a darker, more prejudiced attitude brewing?

The alleged series of racial abuse levied against Real Madrid footballer Vinicius Jr has captivated the world for several months now, and recent incidents of blatant discrimination and possible hate crimes have opened the lid on a much broader issue: is Spain, at heart, a racist country?

At a recent match at Valencia’s Mestalla stadium, Vinicius Jr was taunted by cries of “monkey” from opposition supporters in the stand, a despicable incident the player claims is part of “continuous episodes” of racial abuse he has suffered in Spain.

Back in January, a mannequin was discovered hanging from a bridge in Madrid wearing the player’s jersey just hours before the Copa del Rey quarter-final in the Spanish capital.

Following the latest round of slurs, the Brazilian government has called on the Spanish authorities to fully investigate racial discrimination in its football leagues with Vini Jr going so far as to say that “in Brazil, Spain is known as a country of racists”.

But as a country that has apparently embraced hundreds of thousands of foreigners from countries like the UK, Germany, Belgium and Morocco, is this really an accurate reflection?

Racism based on skin colour and nationality

WHAT DO YOU THINK? IS SPAIN A RACIST COUNTRY?
— Spanish News Today (@MurciaToday) May 25, 2023

According to a recent Eurobarometer study, more than half of Europeans believe that xenophobia is a widespread reality in their country. Here in Spain, where the majority of the population is white, 54% of people acknowledge that there is racial discrimination based on ethnic origin or skin colour. However, most still said they would be comfortable with a black president and would have no problem having a person of colour as a co-worker or raising a child with a black partner.

There certainly appears to be a disconnect between what people say and the way they behave, but Spain has rallied from the Vinicius Jr incidents and condemned the bigoted minority for creating a distorted image of how the country views foreigners, particularly those of colour.

While insisting that racism and sport are “incompatible”, leader of the PPs Alberto Núñez Feijóo, warned this week that the controversy was giving “a distorted image of a city like Valencia”.

“Spain is in no way a racist country,” he stressed.

Incredibly, the fallout from last weekend’s match had led many to criticise the targeted player himself, with Valencian president Ximo Puig accusing Vini Jr of leaving the pitch in an “arrogant” manner and insisting that footballers should always behave as “good professionals”.

This, and comments like it, have been met with much scorn, with writer and social commentator Manuel Jabois pointing out that victim blaming is part of the ongoing problem with racism in Spain.

“Because he’s black… he doesn’t have the right to behave badly, to get angry or respond to a provocation without getting called a monkey,” he said.

It’s a contentious topic that the politicians could do without ahead of the municipal elections on May 28, but in Spain blatant discrimination appears even on the campaign trail, with far-right party VOX papering Metro stations up and down the country in posters condemning irregular migrants and unaccompanied immigrant children flooding the Spanish borders in search of a better life.

And who can forget the so-called Melilla massacre, a tragedy which resulted in the deaths of at least 23 migrants who stormed the Spain-Morocco border last June and was later the subject of a gripping and condemning portrayal of Spain’s treatment of foreigners in a BBC documentary.

How about the British, one of the largest groups of foreigners on Spanish soil? It’s no secret that many felt a decidedly anti-UK sentiment as the driving licence debacle dragged on for months without any resolution.

But is it a Spanish problem specifically, or an EU one? The European Union is heading into its ninth year without any asylum and migration policy and while it throws its weight behind the closure of borders and the erection of walls to close the door on people fleeing from Africa and the Middle East, member states have welcomed more than 4 million Ukrainian refugees since the Russian invasion.

Whether the fault lies in immigration policies or with the Spanish attitude, it seems scandalous that it’s taken a formal complaint from a foreign leader to trigger a national debate about the racism that has long been present, at least in some areas of society.

Image: Freepik

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