Social and political concern grows over a new (in)civility

LleidaScattered and poorly sorted brush, papers and bottles left in the streets, shouting and music at night, dog droppings in parks and sidewalks, and even barbecues in public spaces and viral challenges to defecate in municipal swimming pools. These are some of the most frequent acts of behavior classified as uncivil by municipal ordinances and which carry fines that can exceed hundreds of euros.

These are not criminal acts, nor even vandalism (such as burning containers or fighting), but some sectors of society perceive them as increasing, even in small municipalities. "It seems like everything has deteriorated," laments the mayor of Tàrrega, Alba Pijuan. This municipality (like a dozen others in Ponent) has suffered this summer. The repeated presence of human feces in its swimming pools has forced the council to hire private security services."We're losing ourselves as a society if we don't know how to properly convey the values of civic responsibility," Pijuan explains. "We must take care of a city that, ultimately, is also our home," he adds.

In Les Borges Blanques, where cases of incivility are often associated with the occupations of homes that this municipality records in one of its neighborhoodsThere's also a perception that the phenomenon is growing. "Every day, our municipal brigade takes dozens of photos of waste they've had to collect outside of the containers," says Mayor Josep R. Farran. "This didn't happen before," he asserts.

Was society different fifty years ago? UAB professor Joan Lluís Pérez, an expert in public law, attributes the increased sense of incivility to population growth, which, statistically and in absolute terms, also increases the number of incivil acts. But Pérez also acknowledges that previously there were "more uniform standards of behavior" and that, currently, in the face of diversity and population growth, many "city councils are overwhelmed and don't know how to address this issue." Therefore, he calls for a "courageous" debate on incivility, as a national issue, so that "people feel part of a community and try to respect its principles."

Sociologist and journalist Salvador Cardús She clarifies that the perception of greater incivility is due to the fact that "there are more behaviors that don't conform to traditional or conventional patterns." That is, "in a very homogeneous society, these codes were standardized and shared, but in a modern society like ours, so diverse, complex, and of different origins, which for some and all, is commendable," says Cardús.

Anna Carné, Councilor for Social and Community Action, Citizenship, and Children of Mollerussa, agrees with this last point. She recognizes that there is a very diverse use of public space by different groups, and the perception of incivility ends up being somewhat objective. For this reason, she calls for work on coexistence "so that different ways of living in the streets and squares can coexist," Carné requests. The Mollerussa City Council assures that it works together with its organizations to carry out "active civic behavior campaigns."

Pact in Lleida city

With the data in hand, it seems difficult to definitively conclude that incivility has increased. This is corroborated, for example, by the annual increase in open cases in the city of Lleida. Apart from the break during the months of lockdown during the pandemic (when complaints about neighbor disturbances skyrocketed), the current figures do not exceed those of ten years ago. So why is there a perception of an increase? According to Juanjo Falcó, a teacher, lawyer, and ERC councilor (in the opposition) in the Lleida Paeria, "within the umbrella of incivility, we are placing behaviors that are probably not uncivil." These could be acts that are more criminal than phenomena such as homelessness or begging, which, "although they are possibly on the rise, we do not think they are uncivil actions," says Falcó, also questioning whether drinking alcohol in public (one of the most sanctioned measures in the city of Lleida) is in itself an act. "We should review it and reach a consensus," he concludes.

Psychologist Carles Alsinet, director of the Chair of Social Innovation at the University of Lleida, believes that the perception of growing incivility is false. "It's out of touch with reality," Alsinet argues, attributing it to the interests of certain media outlets and political sectors with a clear ideological strategy. "We must refute it by reporting news that is true, even if the negative news is much more appealing," concludes Alsinet, who is now the commissioner of the future. Pact for Coexistence and Civility of the city of LleidaThis is a project conceived by the Paeria (Council of Social Welfare) that, from a positive perspective, aims to reach a consensus with various social actors on a charter of values and collectively manage conflicts in coexistence. "We seek the shared responsibility of citizens, so that they are the ones who bind us, who acquire and assume a commitment," explains Cristina Morón, Councilor for Security, Mobility, and Civic Affairs. "People who join the pact will do so not only with a structure, but also by stating what they will do to improve coexistence in Lleida," adds Alsinet.

This document, which has been developed over the last year through a process of citizen participation, will be finalized this coming September, in parallel with the drafting of new ordinances (the current ones are more than fifteen years old). "This pact is a compromise, the constructive aspect in the debate on civility; the ordinances are the punitive part," clarifies Morón.

"At the moment, the Pact is only a superficial declaration that is not in line with what a strategic plan should be and, therefore, will be of lesser effectiveness," laments the Republican opposition in the city of Lleida, which also asks that the new ordinances be defined once the Pact has been agreed upon. "The Pact should include a clear commitment to create a new ordinance that is modern, guarantees, and built with consensus," claims Juanjo Falcó.

Fines are, these days, the last tool that city councils have to curb incivility. "For us, pedagogy and education are basic tools, but if there ultimately must be a sanction, it must be exemplary," says the mayor of Les Borges Blanques.

"We must carry out very broad campaigns, not focused on a specific age group, or a cultural or social group, but with a broad reach for all citizens," adds the mayor of Tàrrega, "because when you look at the list of sanctions we've imposed, you realize there are more."