Cooperar para eliminar las alambradas: Europa y el Magreb

The author criticizes the European Union's criminalization of migration and the failure of neoliberal development models in the Maghreb. It highlights the link between environmental degradation—such as desertification and water scarcity—and forced migration, noting that 'environmental refugees' may reach 250 million by 2050. The text calls for a transition to 'post-development' cooperation that reduces Europe's ecological footprint while improving the Human Development Index (HDI) in the Maghreb, moving beyond the interests of extractive elites and the 'Washington Consensus'.

• The document asserts that there is an intrinsic link between environmental deterioration and social instability, noting that environmental refugees could number 250 million by 2050. It argues that international statutes invisibilize these refugees to avoid acknowledging the connection between pollution, ocean acidification, resource scarcity, land salinization, and desertification with hunger, water shortages, biodiversity loss, war, and migration.
• Neoliberal and neokeynesian development models are deemed unsuitable for the Maghreb because they ignore the finitude of resources and existing environmental decay. The author specifically rejects the 'Angola model' of exchanging raw materials for Chinese mega-infrastructure and argues that the 'Washington Consensus'—which posits that neoliberal market economies guarantee democratic institutions—has proven false.
• Environmental crises in the region have direct social and economic impacts: drought in Mauritania puts 12 million people at risk of malnutrition, desertification threatens coastal areas, and the introduction of fracking in Algeria has sparked protests due to the high water requirements in a water-scarce country.
• The author criticizes the European Union's approach to migration, describing it as a regression of values characterized by the criminalization of migrants and the use of 'shame fences' in Ceuta and Melilla. The text advocates for the 'ius migrandi', encompassing the right to live with dignity at home, the right to emigrate, and the right to settle peacefully.
• Regional cooperation in the Maghreb is hindered by bilateral conflicts and 'vicious circles' of institutional corruption and extractive elites. Examples include the political stagnation in Morocco and Algeria under 'strong men' like King Mohamed VI and President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the ongoing civil war in Libya, and the illegal occupation of Western Sahara by Morocco.

APA

del Peral, R. (2015). Cooperar para eliminar las alambradas: Europa y el Magreb. Green European Journal. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/cooperar-para-eliminar-las-alambradas-europa-y-el-magreb/

Chicago

del Peral, Rafael. Cooperar para eliminar las alambradas: Europa y el Magreb. Green European Journal, 2015. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/cooperar-para-eliminar-las-alambradas-europa-y-el-magreb/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=del Peral |first1=Rafael |title=Cooperar para eliminar las alambradas: Europa y el Magreb |publisher=Green European Journal |date=1 March 2015 |url=https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/cooperar-para-eliminar-las-alambradas-europa-y-el-magreb/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{delperal2015cooperar, author = {del Peral, Rafael}, title = {{Cooperar para eliminar las alambradas: Europa y el Magreb}}, publisher = {Green European Journal}, year = {2015}, month = mar, url = {https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/cooperar-para-eliminar-las-alambradas-europa-y-el-magreb/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }