One thing is to preach, and another to give wheat. Spain is presented as one of the most receptive countries in the reception of refugees, but when specifying the figure that the Spanish Government should accept, only 22% of citizens are in favor of increasing it. Of course, as in almost all the chapters of the Ipsos survey on this subject, the levels of rejection are always higher in the set of ten European countries included in the sample: there only an average of 14% of those consulted think that his government should accept more refugees, compared to more than 35% (in Spain 19%) who are in favor of reducing the reception figures.
The majority of Spaniards (more than 41%) are in favor of the Government accepting the same number of refugees as it does today, while in Europe as a whole only a third (34%) agree with maintaining the same number of refugees. current contingents. In the Spanish scenario, those consulted with the lowest educational level are the most reluctant to increase the number of refugees: only 14.5% of them would accept it; seven points below the average.
By vote recall, PP voters (11 points less) and Vox voters (16 points less) are also below the average in accepting refugees. In fact, in the case of the extreme right, almost half of its voters are in favor of the government accepting fewer refugees than at present. The distance between the theoretical predisposition to welcome and the real disposition to put it into practice is explained by some deeply rooted ideas.
For example, and as the first part of the survey revealed, more than 40% of Spaniards believe that "the majority of foreigners who want to enter" Spain "are not really refugees", but rather go "for economic reasons or to take advantage of social services”. And that rate is close to 50% on average in the European countries studied by Ipsos.
Another very ingrained idea is that of the “call effect”. More than 46% of Spaniards (in this case four points more than the European average) believe that "if asylum seekers are granted the right to work, other people who are not really asylum seekers would be encouraged to come to Spain". And here, the postures are quite transversal. For example, among low-income people, the rate of those who share the fear of the pull effect is only two points higher than the average.
Moreover, the educational level does not play a relevant role in this case either. The most convinced of the "call effect" (53%) are those consulted with intermediate level studies. Only among Vox voters is the perception triggered that facilitating work for asylum seekers will result in an avalanche of refugees. This is what 59% of ultra voters believe, 13 points above the Spanish average. Paradoxically, 69% of citizens admit that if refugees could work in Spain, it would be easier for them to learn the language and integrate.
Finally, a curious note: Spain considers itself the country that has received the most refugees before the conflict in Ukraine. Up to 41% of Spaniards attribute this merit, although at a European level the country that appears as the largest recipient of asylum seekers is Germany. Almost 40% of Europeans indicate it as one of the three countries that has received the most refugees. Then, yes, they allude to Spain (33%). There is no doubt that the images of Ceuta and Melilla also reach the rest of Europe.
