2000 El Ejido riots

2000 race riots in El Ejido, Spain hist Sucesos de El Ejido June 2026 The 2000 El Ejido riots were a series of racially motivated disturbances that took place from 5 to 7 February 2000 in El Ejido, a town in the province of Almería, Spain. Triggered by the murders of three Spanish citizens by two Moroccan nationals in separate incidents, the unrest quickly escalated into widespread violence targeting the town's large Moroccan migrant community. Over the course of three days, groups of residents attacked migrant workers, destroyed homes and businesses, and vandalised community infrastructure. The events were widely described at the time as among the most severe instances of racially motivated violence in modern Spanish history. The riots occurred in a context of rapid demographic change, driven by the expansion of intensive agriculture in the region and the growing presence of foreign labourers, particularly from North Africa.Webster Justin 20 March 2000 Racism rears its head in Andalucia https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2000/03/racism-rears-its-head-in-andalucia 5 September 2022 New Statesman17 February 2000 The message of El Ejido https://www.economist.com/europe/2000/02/17/the-message-of-el-ejido 3 February 2021 The Economist Background Migration to El Ejido Intensive farming in Almería thumb|The Mar de Plástico (Sea of Plastic) of intensive farming in El Ejido is mainly tended to by migrant workers, who were the target of rioting in February 2000. Long a country of emigration to Latin America and northern Europe, Spain began to be a migrant destination at the end of the 20th century. In the province of Almería, intensive agriculture became a major economic sector, employing 100,000 migrants earning the equivalent of US$25 per day. In El Ejido itself, an estimated 10,000 of its 45,000 inhabitants were foreign, and around half of them were living in shacks.Simons Marlise Resenting African Workers, Spaniards Attack https://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/12/world/resenting-african-workers-spaniards-attack.html 3 February 2021 The New York Times 12 February 2000 Murders of José Ruiz and Tomás Bonilla On 22 January 2000, a Moroccan migrant worker named Cherki Hadij was throwing rocks at a dog when he was confronted by farmer José Ruiz, who was travelling by van with his wife and children. Hadij then stunned Ruiz with a stone, and killed him with another blow while he was on the floor. Hadij's boss Tomás Bonilla came to try to save Ruiz, and had his throat slit by his employee.Pérez José Ángel El doble crimen de El Ejido The double crime in El Ejido https://www.diariodealmeria.es/opinion/articulos/doble-crimen-Ejido_0_959604195.html 3 February 2021 Diario de Almería 5 October 2015 Spanish Hadij denied the charges against him, but was found unanimously guilty in July 2002 due to the testimony from Ruiz's family and the evidence of Bonilla's blood in his fingernails. Facing a maximum sentence of 40 years (20 for each murder), he was sentenced to 35, in addition to €210,000 (35 million pesetas) compensation to the families of each man.Condenan a 35 años de cárcel al asesino de dos hombres en El Ejido Murderer of two men in El Ejido sentenced to 35 years in prison https://www.lavozdegalicia.es/noticia/espana/2002/07/25/condenan-35-anos-carcel-asesino-dos-hombres-ejido/0003_1165746.htm 3 February 2021 La Voz de Galicia 25 July 2002 Spanish Juan José Bonilla, son of Tomás, became a local politician for the far-right party Vox.Sanmartín Olga R. Juan José Bonilla, candidato de Vox a la Alcaldía: "El Ejido es un polvorín, ojalá no se prenda otra mecha" Juan José Bonilla, Vox's candidate for mayor: "El Ejido is a powder keg, let's hope the fuse isn't lit again" https://www.elmundo.es/andalucia/2019/05/16/5cdc793ffc6c83f8188b4603.html 3 February 2021 El Mundo 16 May 2019 Spanish Murder of Encarnación López Lesbir Fahim was a 22-year-old Moroccan working legally in El Ejido for two years. According to medical records, his mental state deteriorated severely after the murder of the two men. He had insomnia after seeing bloodstains at his place of work, and was prescribed valium. When he then developed acoustic hallucinations and paranoia, he was prescribed sedatives.Rodríguez Jorge A. El supuesto asesino se trastornó a raíz de otro crimen The suspected murderer became mentally ill because of another crime https://elpais.com/diario/2000/02/09/espana/950050817_850215.html 3 February 2021 El País 9 February 2000 Spanish On the morning of 5 February 2000, at the Saturday market, Fahim attempted to snatch the handbag of 26-year-old Encarnación López. When she resisted, he stabbed her near the liver, killing her almost instantly.Detenido un inmigrante en El Ejido acusado del asesinato de una mujer a la que quiso robar An immigrant detained in El Ejido, accused of murdering a woman who he wanted to rob https://elpais.com/diario/2000/02/06/espana/949791612_850215.html 3 February 2021 El País 6 February 2000 Spanish López was due to marry in March. Among the 1,000 mourners at her funeral were politicians, who were chased into the church.Spanish town hit by racial violence https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/633907.stm 3 February 2021 BBC News 7 February 2000 At his trial in October 2003, it was accepted by the judge that Fahim had paranoid schizophrenia and was not fully responsible for murder. He was sentenced to 11 years and three months for the killing and seven months for attempted wounding.López Díaz María José Condena de 11 años por el crimen que desató la xenofobia en El Ejido Sentenced to 11 years for the crime that set off xenophobia in El Ejido https://elpais.com/diario/2003/10/22/espana/1066773623_850215.html 3 February 2021 El País 22 October 2003 Spanish Riots For three days following the murder of López, riots occurred in El Ejido and nearby towns. Migrants were chased with weapons and their cars and homes destroyed; some fled to the hills. The BBC estimated the rioters to number 5,000. Spain's government sent in hundreds of police officers from other cities to curb the violence.Daly Emma Culture clash fuels race riots https://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/feb/13/theobserver 3 February 2021 The Guardian 13 February 2000 According to a report in The Irish Times, police intervened to stop violence, but not property crimes. Pro-migrant and feminist organisations were ransacked and their staff subjected to threats.Fanning the flames https://www.irishtimes.com/news/fanning-the-flames-1.259853 3 February 2021 The Irish Times 25 March 2000 Some blacks, he said, joined the whites in the anti-Moroccan rioting, a story I heard confirmed elsewhere. A telephone exchange allowing workers to contact Morocco, a mosque and Halal butchers were also destroyed.Cenizo Néstor Tres asesinatos y tres días de violencia racista: Vox recuerda el pasado de El Ejido al nombrar a su nuevo coordinador local Three murders and three days of racist violence: Vox recalls the past of El Ejido on naming its new local coordinator https://www.eldiario.es/andalucia/almeria/vox-recuerda-disturbios-nombrar-ejido_1_1719070.html 3 February 2021 El Diario 4 February 2019 Spanish Fifty-five people were arrested over the riots. According to various local witnesses, some of the town's black African migrant workers assisted in the anti-Moroccan rioting. In November 2020, a documentary on the riots and the 20 years since was released through the news website Público. It is titled Después de las ocho (After Eight) due to a quote by the town's mayor Juan Enciso on migrants "At eight they're few in number, after eight [in the evening] they're everywhere"."Después de las ocho", un documental sobre el ataque racista en El Ejido "Después de las ocho", a documentary on the racist attack in El Ejido https://www.lavanguardia.com/vida/20201112/49417566567/despues-de-las-ocho-un-documental-sobre-el-ataque-racista-en-el-ejido.html 3 February 2021 La Vanguardia 12 November 2020 Spanish The riots have been the subject of academic articles. Manuel Ángel Río Ruiz (2002) argued against the prevailing view that ethnic segregation caused the violence, instead finding the opposite: the locals were rebelling against how rapid immigration was dismantling social closure.Río Ruiz Manuel Ángel El disturbio de El Ejido y la segregación de los inmigrantes Anduli: Revista Andaluza de Ciencias Sociales 2002 1 79-107 Spanish See also Torre-Pacheco unrest – similar events in 2025 References Category:February 2000 crimes in Europe Category:2000 crimes in Spain Category:2000 riots Category:2000s in Andalusia Category:Race riots Category:Racism in Spain Category:Riots and civil disorder in Spain Riots