Ceuta businesswoman Sonia Deloy has warned on national television that local traders are facing economic ruin after 21 days of an unaddressed migration crisis.
Speaking on the morning current affairs show Espejo Público on Spanish channel Antena 3, Deloy said business owners and residents in the North African enclave were experiencing severe strain and a complete lack of official support.
Deloy operates a commercial business located directly opposite the Delegation of the Government in Ceuta. She explained that her store had been caught in weeks of uncertainty and growing concern as the border crisis unfolded.
She said there were no words in the Spanish dictionary to describe what local residents were experiencing, describing the situation as absurd and devastating. She added that despite visits from various public officials, authorities had failed to implement a single definitive solution after three weeks.
The economic fallout has hit commercial trade and hospitality during their most critical trading period. Deloy reported that several business owners had been forced to close down during the peak summer campaign due to a collapse in consumer spending alongside persistent tax burdens on small enterprises.
Impact on local businesses
Economist Lorenzo Bernaldo de Quirós also took part in the television broadcast to evaluate the financial consequences for the city.
Bernaldo de Quirós warned that the ongoing disruption represented a direct destruction of the productive fabric in Ceuta. He cautioned that if the situation were allowed to continue, the economic damage to small and medium enterprises would become irreversible.
The economist stressed that the summer season concentrates a major portion of annual revenue for many local merchants. Under the present circumstances, he argued, companies simply cannot conduct normal commercial operations.
Calls for government intervention
Ceuta is an autonomous Spanish city located on the North African coast, sharing a land border with Morocco. Its geographic location makes its local economy particularly sensitive to border stability and migration movements.
Deloy highlighted a growing climate of tension and anxiety among both shopkeepers and citizens across the city. She demanded an immediate institutional response to address a situation she described as increasingly unsustainable.
