00:01Pedro Sanchez defended his government's handling of the migration crisis in Celta,
00:06where some 80,000 migrants tried to enter at the end of July.
00:11In a TV interview, Sanchez called the border bridge a hybrid attack
00:15and said that the state needs to be better prepared.
00:21I believe there are two areas where the state needs to improve.
00:24One is how we prepare for hybrid attacks of this nature,
00:28and two, how autonomous cities, in this case Meila and Celta,
00:32prepare for a structural reality, which is a difference,
00:36an inequality in per capita income and opportunities between one side of the border and the other.
00:41I always say that Celta and Meila are the only two land borders,
00:45not only for Spain, but also for Europe in Africa,
00:49which gives them a very, very important uniqueness.
00:56Sanchez has been facing mounting scrutiny amid a prolonged humanitarian crisis in Celta,
01:02where the influx of thousands of migrants has angered residents in the tiny community,
01:07which is ill-equipped to handle so many arrivals at the same time.
01:13We need larger reception infrastructure for migrants arriving.
01:17In the case of Celta, with this crisis, I think it's quite evident
01:21we cannot have centers that only accommodate 1,000 people.
01:26I believe we need much larger infrastructure.
01:29Right now, we're already looking to increase to 6,000 activated places,
01:33because obviously, to proceed with returns or grant asylum to those who have the right to it,
01:38the first thing we need is to register them.
01:42We need what is technically called triage,
01:45and for that, we need to gather those migrants who entered on July 30th and 31st.
01:51This requires infrastructure that the government of Spain is certainly expanding,
01:55but also, in the area of minors, it is the responsibility of the autonomous city of Celta,
02:01and consequently, we must collaborate to make it possible.
02:09Protesters rallied in Madrid and other cities last week
02:12to denounce the government's handling of the crisis,
02:15calling for Sanchez to step down as prime minister.
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