Massive demonstration in opposition to the eviction of the outdated Massana faculty in Barcelona | News from Catalonia | EUROtoday

A large protest has stuffed the Plaza de la Gardunya, within the Raval neighborhood of Barcelona, ​​in opposition to the eviction of the outdated Massana faculty. Thousands of individuals, 1,000 in line with the Guàrdia Urbana and 12,000 in line with the organizers, took to the streets this Friday afternoon to demand a municipal concession in order that “the old Massana can stay in the neighborhood.” The constructing, occupied for 4 years, is awaiting eviction by the City Council.

The demonstration was referred to as after the council despatched a delegation of municipal technicians this Thursday who, with out interacting with the teams put in within the house, verified that the executive eviction couldn’t be carried out. The subsequent step for Barcelona City Council is to request the eviction via judicial means. “We don’t know what will happen but we are calm,” stated the spokesperson for the previous Massana, Elena Martín.

At half previous 5 within the afternoon the route of the demonstration started, which the organizers have saved secret till the tip. The protesters began the march from behind the Boquería market, headed in the direction of the Rambla, handed via Plaza Cataluña and went down Via Laietana. Under chants similar to “PSC, evictors” or “Barcelona for the working class”, they reached Plaza Sant Jaume, the place they stopped in entrance of the City Hall.

The march coincided with the façade of the city corridor lighting up in pink – the identical coloration that characterizes the outdated Massana – in a rehearsal for the day in opposition to breast most cancers, which might be celebrated tomorrow. In the sq., protesters have launched firecrackers and balloons stuffed with paint of the identical coloration. The march ended by arriving again on the Plaza de la Gardunya and after reciting a manifesto from the entities that occupy the house.

An area “under popular control”

The municipal constructing of the outdated Massana faculty was occupied in 2020 by the Raval Mutual Support Network to distribute meals to residents who have been left homeless in the course of the pandemic. Since then, 9 extra entities have joined, together with the Raval Housing Union, the neighborhood in style faculty and the Matilde Landa in style fitness center.

According to the protesters, the City Council’s challenge consists of constructing a tunnel to facilitate the passage of vacationers to the Boqueria market, works that haven’t but been confirmed by municipal sources. This identical week, Albert Batlle, councilor of Ciutat Vella, warned that he wouldn’t resume dialogue with the occupants till they vacated the constructing. Currently, the method is judicialized and the organizers count on an eviction order within the coming months.