Portugal clarifies its position on the Moroccan Sahara, Portuguese socialism remains halfway

According to Hoy24 Diario Hispano Global, the adoption, in plenary session on January 6, by the Assembly of the Portuguese Republic of a vote of support for United Nations Resolution 2797 marks a significant political turning point in the handling of the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara. The parliamentary text explicitly enshrines the primacy of the autonomy proposal presented by Morocco as a framework for achieving a stable, realistic, and acceptable political solution for the parties.

This move confirms a shift that had already been apparent in Portuguese diplomacy for months and is in line with a broader trend in Europe towards favoring pragmatic solutions over doctrinal approaches that have proven to be ineffective. In a geopolitical environment marked by instability in the Sahel, migratory pressure, and competition from external powers in the Mediterranean, the stability of the Maghreb takes on a strategic dimension that can hardly be ignored.

The draft resolution was promoted by CHEGA, the leading opposition force with 60 deputies, and was supported by the government majority—the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the CDS-PP—as well as the Liberal Initiative party, which provides occasional support to the executive in certain areas, especially foreign policy. The radical left-wing parties, the Communist Party and the Left Bloc, chose not to participate in the vote, maintaining a position historically aligned with the Algerian and Polisario theses.

The political surprise came from the abstention of the Portuguese Socialist Party. This position contrasts with the line taken during António Costa's term in office, when Lisbon began to abandon its rigid neutrality, inherited from an almost automatic interpretation of the referendum paradigm and an irrelevant comparison with the East Timor process. That shift materialized at the Portugal-Morocco bilateral summit in May 2023 and was consolidated with the center-right government's explicit support for the autonomy plan during the Moroccan foreign minister's visit to Lisbon in July 2024.

From a Spanish perspective, this Portuguese socialist ambiguity is even more striking when compared to the evolution of Spanish socialism itself. The PSOE has clearly assumed support for the Moroccan autonomy plan as a serious and credible basis for a political solution, integrating it into the strategic normalization of Spanish-Moroccan relations. This convergence between Madrid and Lisbon reinforces Iberian coherence on a highly sensitive regional issue and projects an image of political responsibility on Europe's southern flank.

The abstention of the Portuguese PS, on the other hand, raises questions about the coherence of a force that has governed the country for decades and has made multilateralism one of its core principles. A selective reading of international law, when it is clearly expressed through a Security Council resolution, weakens diplomatic predictability and can have reputational costs, especially at a time when Portugal is aspiring to a non-permanent seat on the Council for the 2027-2028 biennium.

From Rabat, this position can hardly be interpreted as a natural continuation of a historical relationship marked by cooperation and understanding, recently celebrated with the 250th anniversary of the peace treaty between the two countries. It also symbolically challenges the political legacy of Mario Soares, a central figure in Portuguese socialism and a key player in the Portuguese-Moroccan rapprochement.

The Portuguese vote consolidates a pragmatic reading of the conflict that brings Lisbon closer to the majority European position and to Iberian convergence with Spain, where the PSOE explicitly supports the Moroccan autonomy plan. The Portuguese Socialist abstention, on the other hand, leaves the party in a zone of uncertainty that erodes its own international coherence and weakens the country's diplomatic predictability. In sensitive scenarios such as the Maghreb, ambiguity ceases to be a strategy when it becomes an absence of a clear line.