The former European Parliament member from Ciudadanos, Soraya Rodríguez, defended this Thursday that the Spanish Law of Grandchildren is, above all, an act of restitution and not an electoral maneuver. She explained this during an interview with Tania Costa for CiberCuba, where she analyzed the heated political debate surrounding the implications of the law’s implementation in Spain.
"Fundamentally, the Law of Grandchildren is an element of historical justice and reconciliation for a democratic country with its dictatorial past, after enduring a long dictatorship. That is the most important aspect. Therefore, the Law of Grandchildren is an element of justice," Rodríguez stated emphatically.
The former Socialist deputy and former Secretary of State for International Cooperation argued that the descendants of exiles seeking Spanish nationality are merely reclaiming what they would have been entitled to had their families not been expelled from Spain for political or ideological reasons during the Franco dictatorship.
"All those who are applying for citizenship because they are children of exiles would have been Spanish if their grandparents or parents had not had to flee," he emphasized, adding: "Let them come, let them have Spanish citizenship."
In light of the controversy stirred up in 2026, with general elections set for 2027, Rodríguez was firm in describing the issue as motivated: "An enormous uproar has been created, and from my perspective, it is based on political opportunism rather than purely objective reasons."
The former MEP recalled that the application period was in effect for two years and closed in October 2025 without anyone raising concerns about disturbances in the electoral roll: "The Grandchildren's Law has been in place for many years already, and the process for applying for Spanish nationality ended last October 2025 and had been in effect for an additional two years... during this time, nothing happened."
Rodríguez also rejected the accusations from the Partido Popular, which has labeled the process as "electoral engineering." "It seems quite ridiculous that a party which is in government and wins elections is questioning the electoral system that grants it majorities," he stated, criticizing the PP for following "the trail of the far-right Vox" by questioning a regulation that was supported at the time by both the Popular and Socialist parties.
Rodríguez also deemed the argument that the newly naturalized citizens will vote as a bloc for a specific party to be unfounded. "I find it absurd and ridiculous that any political party could think that all those who are going to vote will vote for the Socialist Party or the Popular Party."
The former MEP also noted that a significant portion of those applying for citizenship did so for professional mobility reasons, not electoral ones. "Many of the people who have requested this Spanish nationality also want to do it because they want to be European citizens. It will facilitate their mobility across Europe, their professional establishment in any European country, and perhaps what they're not thinking about is voting."
As of the date of the interview, almost two and a half million applications had been submitted, although the completed files were around 400,000-450,000. Cuba accounts for more than 350,000 initiated processes, which has fueled additional accusations regarding the role of the Cuban regime in document management.
Rodríguez concluded his defense of the norm by appealing to the strength of Spanish institutions and the profound significance of the law. "The Spanish electoral system is very solid" and "there are many Spaniards who find solace in the Law of Grandchildren because it is an act of justice from a democratic state in relation to a dictatorship that lasted 40 years."
Filed under: