The challenge for the Mossos: managing two demonstrations that hate each other

BarcelonaThe Cecor is a coordination center full of screens from where the heads of a Mossos d'Esquadra operation follow its progress. And what was set up for the eve of the Diada was not easy. At the Fossar de les Moreres there was an event called by Aliança Catalana and at that same time the pro-independence left called for counter-protests in the area to try to prevent the pro-independence far-right from reaching the meeting. Several Mossos public order cordons closed the access to the Fossar and at several moments the anti-fascist protesters tried to overcome them. It would be too bold, police sources state, to say that they were really about to overcome this cordon, but there were moments of tension and the police line had to take a step back. The question that various sources are asking is what would have happened if the two protests had managed to meet. The most repeated answer is that there would have been clashes between protesters.

The Mossos have perceived an increase in polarization following the appearance of new social movements linked to the far-right, such as Aliança and Vox, or the ultra-right, such as the Núcleo Nacional demonstration for the Diada. They link it to a European, practically global, trend, accentuated by the proximity of a period with several elections in sight and more recently by situations like those experienced in Ceuta. For this reason, the fact that there are mobilizations by these groups and counter-protests or attempts at boycotts by antagonistic ideologies is a central phenomenon, a priority for the police, state sources from the force, after a few years with quieter streets.

The Mossos are also very much on top of the tents and local initiatives that these parties carry out to avoid clashes with smaller groups that try to boycott them. For the moment, they have not detected that these antagonistic groups are meeting through social networks to confront each other and fight, a common dynamic among sports ultra movements.

Two ideologies

The starting point, as stated by sources familiar with these social movements, is that anti-fascist movements often have the goal of not giving a voice to and "not letting pass" the far right. Added to this is the fact that these movements also consider themselves—at least in some sectors—anti-system and, therefore, anti-authoritarian, a fact that complicates their relationship with the police despite the mediation channels that are open. The attitude of the ultra-right is completely different: police sources explain that they are authoritarian and often respect the police presence and facilitate their intervention. One element proves this: the extreme right and the ultra-right practically always notify the demonstrations they hold. In contrast, anti-fascist movements almost never do so.

According to the Mossos, the legal framework establishes that no demonstration needs prior authorization from the administration, but there is an obligation to provide prior notification. The fact of not notifying a demonstration does not make it illegal (the fundamental right to demonstrate peacefully continues to exist), but it has administrative consequences and they can face fines.

However, the fact that some notify and others do not—even though the Mossos end up knowing through other channels where they will demonstrate—means that it is not always possible to correctly size the number of agents that will be assigned to a protest and, at the same time, that the police must protect the right to demonstrate of those who have notified without infringing upon the right of those who do not want them to be there. This, added to the fact that in Catalonia, according to police sources, it is rarely the far right that tries to boycott the left, causes the image to be that of the police protecting some and blocking the path—at times with charges and baton blows—of the others. Police sources admit that this photograph is often "inevitable," since the principle is that the two protests cannot touch. The result is that after the Fossar, Sílvia Orriols thanked the Mossos for their work and the CUP spoke of "preferential treatment".

Alternative routes

However, there are also police voices that advocate for trying to curb protests and acts from the administration, by not allowing them once they are communicated, relying on the fact, for example, that hate crimes will surely be committed there with the proclamations that will be made—especially with groups like Núcleo Nacional—. This is a can of worms, however, that has not yet been opened with the far-right.

From the Mossos, they insist that preventive measures such as mediation are always prioritized and that "the use of force is not a goal of the operation, but a resource that is only used when it is necessary". And here, the police line plays a central role, which, for example, prevented anti-fascist protesters from accessing the Fossar: "The line is not merely symbolic. If there are sustained pressures or attempts to overcome it, the officers must recover and maintain the necessary security space", state the force. At these moments, the Mossos also try to differentiate the violent groups that are hidden within the "mass of people" and isolate them.

All in all, from the Catalan police, they point out that almost all of the demonstrations that have taken place in Barcelona during the year 2025 have ended without the use of force: police intervention does not reach 2% of the total number of protests.