On September 10, 2026, the Spanish Congress approved a law restoring Spanish nationality to people born in Western Sahara during the colonial period, with 168 votes in favor, 31 against and 145 abstentions. Tesh Sidi, a deputy for Más Madrid who championed the measure, is now warning that artificial intelligence poses a greater threat than fascism, comparing its impact to that of the atomic bomb.
Delayed for more than a year and a half, the law passed the lower house after a coordinated effort by government allies. Sidi credits the breakthrough to an unusual moment of unity among left-leaning parties and targeted pressure on the PSOE, especially after Sahrawis were excluded from earlier immigration regularizations. Congress president Francina Armengol helped overcome internal resistance and bring the measure to a vote. The result highlighted the law’s importance and the political divisions surrounding it.
The law introduces a special procedure allowing Sahrawis to apply for citizenship without the usual 10-year residency requirement, a major departure from standard Spanish naturalization rules.
For Sidi, the legislation is personal. Born in a refugee camp in Tinduf, Algeria, she says the law is why she entered politics. Seeing older Sahrawis return to the Spanish parliament after fifty years, dressed in traditional clothing and speaking their language, symbolically restored identity and memory, something she considers even more impressive than legal status. RTVE reports that the law still needs to pass the Senate and be published in the BOE before it takes effect. Applicants will then have up to four months to prepare their documents.
The political climate remains tense. Sidi says there were concerns that the PSOE might reverse course, especially after the crisis in Ceuta, but by the time of the vote, the government had no room to back out. The PP abstained, a decision Sidi calls a lack of courage. She says the vote exposed the absence of cross-party agreement on Sahrawi rights despite years of public support. Democrata reports that the law passed after sustained pressure from Sumar and other left-wing allies, with the PSOE initially resisting before supporting the measure under Francina Armengol's leadership.
With the law passed by Congress, Sidi is now focused on artificial intelligence’s impact on Spain’s labor market. As vice president of the Economy, Commerce and Digital Transition Committee, she warns that automation will lead to mass job losses and says the left is not confronting the scale of the problem. She argues that the concentration of wealth and power among a digital elite threatens democracy, while clear policies to protect citizens are still lacking.
Estimates published by Al Jazeera and Morocco World News suggest that between 70,000 and 90,000 Sahrawis and their direct descendants could benefit from the new citizenship law if they can present documents such as old Spanish DNI, birth certificates or UN-verified census records from the Western Sahara referendum period.
Sidi also criticizes the government’s handling of recent migration crises, particularly communication failures that, in her view, allowed far-right narratives and violence against minors to spread. She says publishing sensitive documents without context created confusion, while social networks, mostly controlled by private companies, have become a destabilizing force that can overwhelm state institutions. The events in Ceuta, reported earlier, show how quickly digital mobilization can turn into real-world unrest.
Sidi says Spain urgently needs a new strategy for managing migration and digital threats, calling for a coordinated state policy that bridges regional and national divides. She remains committed to political action, whatever her role in 2027, and sees the debate over AI-driven job losses as the next major fight for social justice.
In Sidi’s view, fascism is dangerous, but artificial intelligence poses a more complex and unpredictable risk. Its dual-use nature, capable of both progress and harm, requires lawmakers’ immediate attention. She argues that Spain is still legislating for the past as a future shaped by AI and digital power arrives faster than its institutions can keep up. The citizenship law is a long-overdue correction; Spain’s democracy also faces the test of responding to changes already underway in its economy and society.
