"If it were up to her, she would shut us down completely": Ripoll takes stock of Sílvia Orriols' twenty months as mayor

RipollAfter the failure of the motion of censure against Silvia Orriols, frustrated by Junts' last-minute backtracking, the far-right mayor will continue to lead the Ripoll City Council until at least 2027. The leader of Aliança Catalana has already been in office for twenty months, almost two years into her mandate, and during all this time in government she has left her mark on the municipality. This week, the ARA has toured the streets of the town, speaking to residents of all opinions and consulting the main entities, associations and groups in the town, to draw up an x-ray and take stock of these almost two years of far-right Ripoll government.

From the outset, it is evident that, since Orriols became mayor, a clear polarization has been brewing in the capital of Ripoll between the staunchest defenders and those who radically confront her Islamophobic discourse. However, beyond these two very distant poles, in Ripoll not everything is black or white, the situation is complex and full of nuances: despite being the capital of the region, it is a small municipality, with just over 10,000 inhabitants, where everyone knows each other, so that, when it comes to talking about politics, personal relationships, hearts, also come into play. In addition, a significant part of the population perceives a certain exhaustion in the face of the current scenario, which has turned Ripoll, as an embryonic town of the far right independence movement, into a media focus and a strategic point for the national leaderships of the parties.

Canteen for the elderly and conflict with La Metxa

One of the most applauded measures of Silvia Orriols' mandate has been the promotion of the soup kitchen, where thirty pensioners eat and spend the afternoon every day: "It is a very important space, it serves as a place for the elderly to socialise and do all kinds of activities after eating, they are delighted and there is a waiting list." The initiative already existed under the previous municipal government, but Orriols has placed it in a room with greater capacity.

However, Orriols also accumulates conflicts and controversies, such as with the popular centre La Metxa, which tried to close down alleging non-compliance with licences and permits. "Now we have very limited activity, but, if it were up to her, she would close us down completely, because we are at the antipodes. She has used her loudspeaker to feed a very brutal racism, for example, using the official account of the Town Hall to point out the Moroccan nationality of some criminals," says a member of the centre's management. 00 euros in fines and has several open legal proceedings with the council.

""Racist discourse has been normalized"

As soon as he entered the government, Orriols also came up against the festival committee, which is responsible for organising the Fiesta Mayor, New Year's Eve and Carnival, and resigned en masse. However, a new committee soon came in which, without taking a position for or against Aliança Catalana, had no problem coming to an understanding with the new government team. Maria Mas is one of the three members: "Sílvia Orriols has asked us to organise the chestnut festival, which had not been held until now. She is very much in favour of promoting traditional Catalan festivals and the only thing she has asked us is that we stick to the budget," she explains. Beyond the events of the festival committee, Orriols has also tried to promote other activities linked to popular culture, such as the Wool Festival and the Wedding of the Farmer, the pubillaje, the giants or the Three Kings' Parade. However, none of these entities has wanted to publicly assess the mandate, since they represent a plurality of opinions and depend on municipal subsidies. The parish, the AFA of public centres or the Ripoll monastery did not want to give their opinion either.

In the cultural field, the cooperative bookshop La Lluerna, which also organises talks, events and presentations, did want to give its opinion. It is run by Marta Barceló and Carla Escarrà, both very critical of the direction the town is taking, who live with "concern, pessimism and sadness". "We are sharing the town with people who, instead of working to generate community and understanding, seek the opposite," says Escarrà regarding the Islamophobic ideology of Aliança. And Barceló concludes: "Racist discourse has become normalised, the masks of many people who have taken a very obvious position have fallen and there is no contact between the two poles. The mayor, for example, has never come to the bookshop." In this sense, it is symptomatic that, just when Orriols won the municipal elections, asking around on the street, it was difficult to find neighbours who admitted to having voted for Aliança, whereas now, almost two years later, the party is no longer a taboo subject, it has become normal, many people have lost the stench and are openly expressing their opinions.

Businessmen in favour of reducing the guaranteed income for immigrants

In Ripoll, industry is the main economic engine and businessmen in this sector, beyond some occasional clashes, do not complain about Orriols' mandate, but on the contrary: "For the first time we have managed to get the cost of industrial waste and shops lowered. They could have shirked, but it is one of the few businesses in Ripollès." Pascal also welcomes the fact that police presence has been reinforced in the centre of the town and, regarding the anti-immigration speech of the mayor, he points out: "We cannot demonise the group, if they come to work and integrate, they are welcome, because we need labour in the Ripollès industry, but if they have run out of employment, unemployment benefits, it would be better for them to go somewhere else to look for work."