"We feel betrayed": More than a thousand people protest at El Prat airport against its expansion.

Llobregat Meadow"Today all the people of El Prat de Llobregat gathered to say No at the airport, but this is just the beginning. We will return when necessary and until necessary." This was the closing of a protest that marched through the streets of El Prat for an hour and a half to protest against the airport expansion this Saturday at noon. The demonstration, called by the neighborhood organization Ni un Pam de Terra and attended by more than 1,000 people, has been going on for days. the project despite opposition from ERC and Comuns.

"We're asking the Catalan government to withdraw the proposal and also for more firmness from the political parties. There are only words and signatures, but no tangible political pressure. Everything stems from the airport: the budget, the investiture..." criticized one of the spokespersons, Pere Bonet, in statements to ARA. "Our job is to point out that the politicians aren't doing what they should be doing, which is representing us. We feel betrayed," explained Marcel Juan, another spokesperson. The rally began in Plaça de la Vila, where the divergences between the organizing organization and the political parties had already become evident: while on one side the former read a manifesto, at the other end of the square political representatives from ERC, Comuns, and the CUP addressed the media. ERC has demanded that Salvador Illa's government comply with the investiture agreements, which provided for a change in the governance of El Prat airport that would give the Generalitat a greater say, while the CUP has said that the expansion is "in no way" necessary for either Catalonia or the region.

"Damaged" relationship

Before the meeting began, the mayor of the municipality, Alba Bou (Comuns), and her predecessors in office, Lluís Mijoler (2019-2025) and Luis Tejedor (1982-2019), took a photo together to express their rejection of the expansion. "I would like to address the government and tell it that the majority of people in our country need trains to get to work and only a minority want direct flights to Shanghai," criticized Bou, who noted that they have collected more than 12,000 signatures against the expansion. Candela López, coordinator of Comuns, said they will do whatever it takes "to stop this nonsense" and that their relationship with the government has been "damaged."

The demonstration, led by a banner reading "No to airport expansion! No third runway, no satellite terminal, no airport city," marched through Ferran Puig Street, Frederic Soler Street, Virgen de Montserrat Avenue, and Jaume Casanovas Street—home of Esquadra—to the rhythm of slogans such as "And we'll keep saying, not an inch of land," "And Ricarda green, politicians to hell," "PSC, employers' association; criminal alliance," and "Mauricio Lucena, the airport in your house."

The residents of El Prat who accompanied the protesters through the streets of their town were families, young people, and older people, and many were carrying artichokes, the municipality's most emblematic vegetable. "Moving the ducks to another place seems silly to me," explained Santi, a resident of the municipality, during the march. For Davínia, another resident of El Prat, the expansion means more pollution and fewer natural spaces. These arguments were some of those that Ni un Pam de Terra (Not a Pam of Terra) put forward during the rally, as well as the economic model: "The expansion's goal is to bring in more tourists, and this leads to more social problems such as housing and job insecurity," Bonet explained. "We have a positive assessment [of the rally], people have responded immediately. It's a first step," she added, after the rally in front of the municipal cultural space El Cèntric ended.