The Mossos will assess "the proportionality" of the actions of two agents at a teachers' assembly

BarcelonaSince two Mossos d'Esquadra agents infiltrated a teachers' assembly where future strikes in the education sector were being discussed —an action that has generated harsh criticism from opposition parties—, the Minister of the Interior, Núria Parlon, had limited herself to supporting the Catalan police and endorsing the explanations provided by the police force. This Monday, however, she has gone a step further: she announced that in the coming hours the "opportunity and proportionality" of this police action will be assessed, which has coincided with a period of teacher mobilizations to force a new negotiation with the Department of Education for the improvement of the collective's working conditions.

The Minister of the Interior has once again wanted to close ranks with the police chief, Josep Lluís Trapero, after parties like ERC called for his resignation. Parlon has wanted to make it clear that it was an "operational" maneuver and not a "political decision." In fact, she explicitly stated that Trapero did not make this decision. "Here, what we probably need to assess, which is what we will do in the coming hours, is the opportunity of this measure, the proportionality of these measures, and from here we will make the appropriate decisions always from an operational point of view, which is where this decision was made," Parlon pointed out during the presentation of the Government's new sustainable forest management strategy, in el Bruc. "There is confidence in the chief, as we said, and in the corps as well," Parlon insisted.

ERC does not condition Trapero's leadership on the budgets

The police action of the two agents of the Mossos d'Esquadra has caused the opposition to come out in force against the Government and, specifically, to demand the dismissal of Trapero, which ERC, the Comuns and the CUP demanded last week. However, with the budget negotiation in its final stretch, the republicans want to separate this crisis from the accounts and will not make it a condition. "One thing is the budgets and another is political criticism. If the demand for resignation is not formalized, they will do as they see fit. It is not a condition for ERC, but rather that they recognize an evident error and take the appropriate decisions," stated ERC spokesperson Isaac Albert at a press conference, adding: "We will not let Trapero end up mortgaging the funding for hospitals and schools".

On the other hand, PSC spokesperson Lluïsa Moret defended Parlon but avoided endorsing Trapero. Moret stated at a press conference that the Government has given "sufficient explanations" but made a clear distinction: "I do not speak about or value Mr. Trapero, I value the Government. In the Government, the one who leads these policies is called Núria Parlon," she said. She even emphasized that the PSC "has no opinion" on Trapero's position: "We do not opine on individuals in directive positions in the departments; what we do is defend public security policies," she asserted. At the same time, the socialist also separated the accounts from the current controversy.

While the parties continue to call for resignations, the USTEC union, the largest among teachers, has announced that it is studying the filing of a lawsuit for violation of fundamental rights in the High Court of Justice of Catalonia. The union denounces that the Government is treating mobilized staff "as a public order threat" and warns of the normalization of infiltration, surveillance, identification, and intimidation practices against teachers and educational support staff within the framework of union activity and educational mobilizations. The union also explained this Monday in a statement that they will bring the police action before the Catalan Data Protection Authority.

Information and resignation

The actions will not end here: USTEC has also announced that it will formally request from the Ministry of the Interior "full access to all reports, minutes, proceedings, files, and communications related to assemblies, strikes, and educational mobilizations." The union believes that these events were not exceptional and that they form part "of a sustained police action against mobilized educational staff." In the same statement, USTEC also demands the "immediate" resignation of the Minister of the Interior, Núria Parlon, whom it accuses of endorsing an action "incompatible with fundamental rights and with respect for trade union activity and assembly spaces.

As explained by ARA, the women were two plainclothes agents from the General Information Commissioner's Office of the Catalan police. The same sources specify that they were making a "risk assessment" and obtaining information regarding a labor dispute, such as the one between the Department of Education and the unions. It is common to see plainclothes Information agents during demonstrations and protests, sometimes among the protesters themselves. Sources from the force indicate that their function was to gather information to prevent scenarios and also to assess the scale of police operations for future mobilizations. Entering an assembly, according to sources consulted by this newspaper, is not usually a very common dynamic, although some sources clarify that it is not an exceptional operation.