New milestones in bureaucracy in Catalonia

In April 2023, we discussed here the year-long delay in receiving subsidies for installing solar panels. Ten days ago, 3Cat reported that heavy goods vehicles have been sitting idle for more than three months awaiting the permits required to drive. And last Friday, TV3 reported that a total of 5,153 people died in Catalonia in 2025 while going through the process of applying for dependency benefits. The process for recognizing a case takes an average of eight months, from the initial assessment of the degree of dependency to the resolution of the Individual Care Program, which determines the corresponding benefit or service. And if you look back, you'll find the same news from previous years: "People die every hour, people die every day..." It's pathetic.

The most frustrating thing about bureaucracy in Catalonia is not only that we've identified society's needs and are slow to address them, but that the Catalan government is perfectly aware of this, says it wants to solve the problem, but fails to do so. Last year, the government announced it would simplify 170 administrative procedures (out of the 2,371 it manages) to make them more accessible. We're anxiously awaiting the results of this initiative. You ask the departments, and they say they're short-staffed or that the process has become overly bureaucratic.

But it's deplorable that, in the digital age, the government still fails to provide the services citizens pay for. It reminds me of a sad joke I heard in the Soviet Union. A driver takes his car to a garage and they tell him it will be fixed in a year. "In a year, morning or afternoon?" he replies, completely serious. And when the mechanic looks on incredulously, he explains: "Because in a year, in the afternoon, they're coming to deliver a new television to me."