Antoni Bassas' analysis: "Bravo, Minister! The fault of the commuter trains lies with Catalan vandalism."

Everything keeps turning around Trump's tariffs, and since their system of government is chaos, yesterday decided to suspend the new rates for 90 days to everyone except China, where it has made products even more expensive with a punitive 125% tariff. Why did it decide to do this? Well, according to the Washington Post, because he was watching on TV Republican senators and economists who, despite being on his side, were worried about the consequences, made a few calls and unexpectedly decided on the moratorium. Trump negotiates from chaos, governs from chaos. The result? Today the stock market soared. However, the trade war with China continues, which is the Chinese way of arguing about who rules the world, of putting America first; well, putting himself first. But be careful, because the 10% tariff that is still in place is very difficult for companies that export to the United States to bear.

Meanwhile, in this place where the world is called Catalonia, we also have a local chaos called Rodalies. In the chapter ofThis morning we had two breakdowns, in Castellbisbal and Fabra i Puig, in Barcelona, ​​​​which have disrupted traffic on the R3, R4, R7, and R8. One of the disruptions was due to roadworks. In total, people spent half an hour waiting for the train.

And here comes the minister responsible, Óscar Puente. He spoke in Congress yesterday. When asked how many of the incidents are due to the "negligence or lack of investment" of Pedro Sánchez's government, Puente replies: "Absolutely none." And he concludes with:

"January 2024. A third of the acts of vandalism that occur across the entire Spanish network occur in the Barcelona area. Sixty percent of the stone-throwing. I must say that stone-throwing is practically a Catalan phenomenon. Stone-throwing isn't done on trains in other parts of Spain."

It's ridiculous: "Stoning is a practically Catalan phenomenon." I can imagine the minister salivating at the thought of classifying vandalism against trains as Catalan. He could have said it's a phenomenon more prevalent in Catalonia, but he says "it's Catalan."

And then, since Puente is one of those crooked-toothed politicians who always attack and are never to blame for anything, he says:

"One in every five activations of the alarm device, in all of Spain, is produced in Catalonia. The graffiti artists in Catalonia have espoused a strategy that is that they do not wait for the train to leave. They activate the alarm, get off the train, paint and leave. I would be pleased to hear you talking "Therefore, also, because it is not a problem of the service provider, you must have some responsibility in it."

Oh no, painting or throwing stones where Renfe trains are is not Renfe's problem. Have you seen Aena letting people vandalize planes? Or the Treasury letting the walls of its offices be painted? Mr. Minister, Between January and March, 90 days, there were only 12 days of normal service. Is that also the fault of the graffiti artists and the "Catalan stoning"?

Aren't the escalators and elevators that have been broken for weeks a problem for the service provider? When lightning strikes an overhead line, is it vandalism? When people waited half an hour for a train this morning because of construction work in a tunnel, is this vandalism? When service provider workers commit sabotage because they don't want to be transferred to the Generalitat, is this due to a Catalan phenomenon? When travelers receive no information, is it also the fault of the stones?

What will you ask us next, Minister? To kiss your ass, like Trump? In addition to enduring the daily humiliation of poor service, we must also put up with the minister. President Isla, we're not feeling it.

Good morning.