What is the Government's response to teachers, doctors, farmers, commuter rail users…?

Concluding a week of nationwide strikes, Teachers have blocked the Ronda de Dalt ring road at several points this morningShortly before 7:00 a.m., approximately 400 people blocked traffic in both directions in Santa Coloma de Gramenet, just before the La Trinitat interchange. Later, about 100 protesters blocked the same road near Vall d'Hebron Hospital, followed by another blockade on the B-20 highway near Finestrelles, in Esplu. This action is a response to the agreement the government reached two weeks ago with the CCOO and UGT unions, presented as a "national pact," but which did not receive the support of Ustec, the largest union in the education sector, or the Secondary School Teachers' Union, the largest union in secondary schools.

The group of doctors, who already went on strike yesterday and are returning today, also plans to join the protest in Barcelona. And these past few days, teachers have also received support from farmers across the country.

Meanwhile, the commuter rail service continues to be deplorable. There are still 180 service disruptions, and we'll be dealing with this situation for another three months. Therefore, commuter rail users wouldn't have been able to join the teachers' protests even if they had wanted to, because they would have arrived too late (it's a joke, as Montilla from Polonia would say). Just today, we explained that, According to the Chamber of Commerce Plan, 53.8 billion euros would be needed over the next 17 years to prevent the collapse of Catalonia's infrastructure..

What we've been experiencing for months, and which has exploded so visibly this week, is serious. We're talking about education, healthcare, land and food sovereignty, mobility (and, in a way, housing too)—in short, the fundamental elements of daily life in any country. What is the government's response?

Before the government can say it, let me preempt it: there are inherited situations, yes. Catalonia has experienced a spectacular population increase in just a few years, yes. We are more people, more diverse, and therefore the needs associated with this complexity have skyrocketed, agreed.

But all of these are mitigating factors, not exonerating ones.

What has the government done to eliminate bureaucracy? When teachers, doctors, and farmers are given a microphone, they all say the same thing: they're fed up with bureaucracy.

There are two fundamental problems here: the fiscal deficit, the enormous difference between what we pay in taxes and what we receive in services. And the State's treatment of Catalonia, which alone accounts for almost 20% of Spain's GDP and 25% of its exports.

The entire narrative surrounding the debate with the independence movement consisted of saying that a confrontation with Spain couldn't be the solution because of the imbalance of power. But a calm acceptance of our status as a province isn't working either. We're seeing it with the commuter rail system: neither Renfe nor Adif, the cause of the problem, can be the solution. The State is resisting the delegation of income tax management to the Generalitat, even though we've had an autonomous state for 46 years. And we still have to resort to this fish-in-the-horn tactic. It's clear that the autonomous community label is far too small for Catalonia, and naturally, hosting the Goya Awards or the summit of regional presidents in Barcelona doesn't compensate for that.

If we can't access our own resources, the Catalan government won't be able to provide answers to teachers, doctors, farmers, commuter rail users, or any other group. All it can offer is empty promises. And there will be more weeks like this.

Good morning.