Trumpism and new geopolitical risks for Spain
According to the party, this alignment not only damages Spain's image abroad, but could also open the door to scenarios that directly affect its security and territorial sovereignty, especially in non-peninsular territories such as the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla.
According to statements reported by the Spanish media, Podemos believes that the Spanish right's adherence to a logic of unilateral interventions outside international law — as was the case in Venezuela during Trump's presidency — contributes to weakening the international legal system, which has historically served as a shield for middle-power states. When force replaces law, borders cease to be a stable legal reality and become the subject of political negotiation.
From Podemos' perspective, this is not simply an ideological disagreement with the right, but a political drift that could set ‘dangerous precedents’, making it easier for regional or international actors to justify pressure or claims on particularly sensitive Spanish territories.
In this regard, the party highlights the ‘geopolitical vulnerability’ of the Canary Islands, an archipelago located in a maritime area rich in natural resources, including strategic minerals and possible gas and oil reserves. This context makes the territory a focus of growing interest amid international competition for control of resources.
Podemos' message is clear: when Madrid supports policies that break with the principles of international law abroad, it weakens — consciously or unconsciously — the foundations that protect its own internal interests. International law is not only an ethical reference point, but also an essential political tool for states that do not have decisive military or economic superiority.
In this vein, the spokesperson for Podemos in the Canary Islands, MP Noemí Santana, has linked the current situation to the experience of the Green March of 1975, according to her interpretation, warning that tolerance of violations of international law in distant scenarios may end up affecting Spanish security. ‘What is justified in Caracas today could be transferred to the Canary Islands tomorrow,’ she said, referring to the double standards that govern international relations.
This discourse reflects a critical view of Spanish foreign policy under the influence of the right wing, which, according to Podemos, does not align with Madrid's strategic interests, but rather pushes it towards a scenario of greater tension and uncertainty. Unlike the United States, Spain lacks the same room for manoeuvre and needs a stable international order based on rules rather than the imposition of force.
For this reason, the party insists that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea remains the main legal framework for guaranteeing maritime sovereignty and protecting the economic rights of states. It also urges the Spanish government to adopt a firmer stance in defence of its strategic interests, moving away from short-term ideological alignments that could weaken Spain's negotiating position at regional and international level.
Podemos' criticism is not limited to warning about the risks, but also offers a more in-depth diagnosis of the transformation of the international system: the shift from a world governed by rules to one dominated by the logic of power and transactions. In this context, importing ‘Trumpism’ into Spanish politics would not simply be an ideological choice, but a risky gamble that jeopardises the achievements in sovereignty built up over decades of respect for international law.
The implicit conclusion in the discourse of the Canarian left is that sovereignty is not protected by slogans, but by a firm commitment to international law.
Any drift that justifies illegitimate interventions, regardless of their motivations, runs the risk of turning the most sensitive Spanish territories into pawns in a geopolitical game that exceeds their capacity for control and their margins for decision-making.
Abdelhay Korret, Moroccan journalist and writer