"The Sahara is Moroccan de facto and de jure and to say otherwise is to deny historical evidence," Villicaña said in a statement to MAP, pointing to the responsibility of Algiers in the prolongation of the artificial conflict over the Moroccan Sahara.

"If Algeria allowed the free movement of the inhabitants of the Tindouf camps, the vast majority of these populations would have returned to Morocco, and the problem would have been solved," said the Mexican political scientist.

 For López Villicaña, the fall in oil prices, which is affecting the country's oil revenues, is sowing panic not only in Algeria but also in the ranks of the polisario, whose leaders fear its negative repercussions on the subsidies they receive from Algiers.

 The Mexican academic had visited the southern provinces during which he learned about the reality of this conflict, its upheavals, and the development model implemented in that part of the Kingdom. This in-depth knowledge was invaluable to him in writing his book entitled "The Sahara problem: a geostrategic perspective".

In this book, the political scientist discusses the deep long-standing links between the Saharan provinces and the Moroccan State, as well as the regional and international factors that contributed to the continuation of this conflict.