Isla warns about the B9: "Irresponsibility doesn't go unpunished and has consequences"

Barcelona"The Catalan government's priority is to resolve the situation, discreetly and diligently." With these words, the President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, explained that they are trying to find a solution for the dozens of occupants of the former B9 high school in Badalona, ​​who are now living on the streets. However, there is still no announcement to be made: "I hope that in the coming hours there will be tangible signs in this direction," Illa stated. The Catalan leader called for "calm," especially among the residents of Badalona, ​​following the protests of recent days. President Illa also criticized, without directly naming him, the mayor of Badalona, ​​Xavier Garcia Albiol. For example, he thanked the organizations working to resolve the situation. "They don't give interviews, they work," he said, adding shortly afterward: "Irresponsibility doesn't go unpunished and has consequences." At the press conference reviewing the 2025 results, the head of the Catalan government stated that he had spoken with Albiol but wished to remain discreet. Isla insisted that the Catalan government guarantees "compliance with the law, peaceful coexistence, and humanist values."

Puigdemont's reaction

For his part, former Catalan president and Junts leader Carles Puigdemont has demanded that immigration powers be transferred to Catalonia so that it can address situations like that of the people evicted from the B9 housing complex. In a message released this Tuesday, he argued that the Catalan government should assume these powers and that municipalities should be provided "with the legal tools and material resources to give responsible responses to the concerns of the public." Dozens of people were evacuated from the B9 last week and have been sleeping rough, most of them under a bridge on the C-31 highway. Some organizations in the city have arranged to take in about thirty people, but many still have nowhere to go. Even when a space has been secured for some to sleep in, it has faced opposition from local residents.

Puigdemont attributed this rejection to the "inflammatory attitude" of the city's mayor, Xavier García Albiol, and deemed it urgent to "restore peaceful coexistence and respect for fundamental rights." "Under no circumstances can the most fundamental rights be called into question or put at risk," he emphasized, warning that "extremism offers no solutions to conflicts; on the contrary, it fuels them to gain electoral advantage." In this regard, he pointed to the PP—Albiol's party—and the PSOE as "incapable of proposing solutions to a problem they themselves have helped create." He also criticized the president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, for his "absence" during this crisis and prescribed "serenity and courage" to "recognize the reality that exists" in many municipalities and that "must be addressed rigorously, not with demagoguery."

Sílvia Orriols, leader of Aliança, has already responded to Puigdemont. As she did a few days ago, urging citizens to welcome the people occupying the warehouse in Badalona, ​​the far-right leader has challenged the former president to take them in at the Casa de la República (House of the Republic). "You share responsibility for the damage the country is suffering. You have no credibility and no solutions. You are the past. And we Catalans sold our future," she retorted in response to Junts' demand to manage immigration.

The spokesperson for the Comuns in the Catalan Parliament, David Cid, also addressed the situation of those evicted from the former B9 high school in Badalona, calling the mayor's actions "ruthless" and his government a "failure." "Badalona is a city that has a dog beach, but not a shelter for the homeless," he criticized. Cid criticized Albiol for saying he "has no resources" and for being capable of treating people like animals. "His attitude is absolutely indistinguishable from that of the far right," he concluded. CUP deputy Pilar Castillejo criticized Albiol, calling him an "arsonist," but also attacked Isla and the role of the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) in the conflict. Thus, she pointed out that on the day of the eviction, the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) offered support to the local police, and that last Sunday, when a group of residents gathered in front of the Virgen de Montserrat parish to prevent the sheltering of about fifteen evicted people, the Catalan police force was not present: "We didn't see the Mossos protecting the residents here." She also criticized the lack of action by the Ministry of Social Rights regarding the eviction and the President of the Generalitat (Catalan government), Salvador Illa, whom she urged to force Albiol to register the evicted residents despite his refusal. "Mr. Illa also bears responsibility for what is happening if his government does not act and put an end to the undignified situation currently faced by the people and neighbors who lived in building B9," she concluded.