Javier Milei accused Pedro Sánchez of using Spain’s descendants’ nationality route and migrant regularisation to help the left at the November 29 general election. He made the claims at a Fundación Faro dinner.
Pedro Sánchez responded to Milei’s earlier insult by embracing the left-wing label and saying he was proud of policies that raised pensions and the minimum wage. He also defended abortion rights.
At the annual dinner of Fundación Faro, a think tank linked to Milei’s political movement, the Argentine president renewed his attack on Sánchez on 24 October and accused him of trying to influence Spain’s 29 November general election. Spanish media reported that Milei called Sánchez a “ladrón corrupto” and said the regularisation of undocumented migrants and the nationality route for descendants of Spaniards would benefit the PSOE. He ended his remarks by expressing hope that a “blue wave” would bring the political right to power in Spain.
Milei said Sánchez had regularised hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants to benefit the PSOE. He also accused the Spanish prime minister of using the “law of grandchildren” to grant citizenship so recipients would vote for the left. The measure is a nationality provision under Spain’s 2022 Democratic Memory Law, which allows certain descendants of Spaniards to obtain nationality of origin, including descendants of people who lost or renounced Spanish nationality in connection with persecution and exile. It is distinct from the ordinary immigration-regularisation process; nationality eligibility does not determine a person’s political affiliation or voting intention.
A separate dispute concerns whether some descendants living abroad can register to vote without consular documentation proving that their ancestors met the law’s exile-related requirements. Spain’s Supreme Court required consular certification for the related to the topic applicants to be included in the overseas electoral census, the Censo Electoral de Residentes Ausentes (CERA). The court’s measure affects voting eligibility for that group and does not automatically cancel nationality grants. The State Attorney’s request to lift the suspension was rejected on 12 October.
A report published on 24 October said that 91 of 31,390 reviewed files had the required consular accreditation for the voting process, about 0.29% of the files reviewed. The figure concerns documentary compliance, not all people who obtained nationality under the Democratic Memory Law. The reported deadline for Foreign Affairs to deliver lists to the Supreme Court was 28 October, three days before the scheduled election.
The immigration-regularisation process is separate from the descendants’ nationality route. One report put applications for the extraordinary regularisation process at more than 1.17 million; that was an application count, not a total of approved cases. The reported eligibility structure covered people present in Spain before 1 January 2026 who could demonstrate at least five continuous months in the country when applying. The resulting authorisation initially lasts one year and allows residence and work in Spain; it does not itself grant Spanish nationality or the right to vote in general elections.
The exchange follows Milei’s earlier confrontation with Sánchez during his visit to Spain, when his remarks prompted a strong response from the PSOE. An earlier report on his visit covered that confrontation.
Milei closed by saying he hoped the political right would take power in Spain.
