The Spanishist squads give no respite removing esteladas: "They are cowards"

BarcelonaThe Sindicat d'Estudiants dels Països Catalans (SEPC) repainted two weeks ago the pro-independence mural in the UAB's Plaça Cívica that the rectorate had erased by judicial order during Easter week and which had been welcoming students for thirteen years. Only two days later, the pro-Spanish elements eliminated it. This was done by the association Unión de Brigadas, which brings together seven small groups from all over Catalonia – four of which are active –, mainly from the metropolitan area of Barcelona, who are dedicated to removing pro-independence symbolism from public spaces.

This organization, which advocates for direct action, was founded less than a year after the 1-O referendum, when pro-independence activists were hanging yellow ribbons to demand the freedom of political prisoners. The paralysis of the "Procés" has not stopped their activity, not by a long shot. In fact, these organized squads are more active than ever, as can be seen from their social media posts, where they boast about removing "scarecrows" in reference to the "estelades" (Catalan flags), almost every day.

Their modus operandi is always the same. They have a network of collaborators who inform them via phone chats about towns where there are "estelades". And they go at dawn, wearing balaclavas to avoid being recognized and large poles to remove hoisted "estelades", or with spray paint to erase the graffiti. They do this with a defiant attitude and confront neighbors if any of them reproach them for what they are doing.

In recent weeks, dozens of towns have been the target of actions, which are usually carried out by the same group of three or four people, as can be seen in the videos they post on social media. In these videos, they also ask for donations for gasoline and material with an account number, in the name of Francisco José M. Q., and a phone number to make payments. L'ARA has spoken with the association's spokesperson, David Cosculluela, who assures that they began to act in August 2018 "after the assault on a woman who was removing ribbons in the Parc de la Ciutadella" in Barcelona, as he recounts. As an association, they provide "legal and logistical support" to the brigades to "maintain the neutrality of public spaces." Why are they anonymous and wear hoods and act at night? Because they have "received death threats, people have been identified who have called them at work, the CDR have come to their homes" and they do it at night "to avoid disturbances or provocations" in a direct action that "is faster than the administrative one." They rent the vehicles they use to preserve the identity of their members.

Cosculluela was number three on Vox's lists in the Barcelona elections in 2023, but points out that the association is plural within Spanish nationalism – they have a close relationship with Impulso Ciudadano and S'ha Acabat – and that it is financed by anonymous donations. He comments that they act "several times a week" and that the number of collaborators exceeds thirty, although he does not want to specify the figure. Cosculluela states that they have received about forty complaints and only in some cases, such as in Ripoll, have they been convicted of damages in the process of removing the independence symbol.

Iron Estelades

Cornellà del Terri has been one of the latest municipalities to be besieged with the theft of one of the two estelades they have in the town. Given the proliferation of actions, this and other towns have opted to install metal estelades to make their lives difficult. "The fabric ones are very easy to remove," admits the mayor, Salvador Coll. In Tàrrega, they have also opted for metal flags at twelve meters high, but the brigades have engineered a system of poles with paint that has allowed them to disfigure the flag.

The mayor of Cornellà del Terri, who is also the president of the Association of Municipalities for Independence (AMI), denounces the impunity with which these squads act. "All the complaints filed with the Mossos are archived because they say they do not attack constitutional symbols, but they do damage urban furniture such as the poles where the flags are or the signs of the municipalities," he concludes. In this case, sources from the Mossos say that it is indeed punishable, but they make it clear that if they only remove estelades (Catalan pro-independence flags), it is not considered "violent extremism or hate crime." Thus, the only thing they can do is "identify them" and if there are aggressions or coercion, as already happened in Verges, open proceedings.

The same happens in La Garriga, a point of constant assaults. Its mayor, Meritxell Budó, who is also president of the Catalan Association of Municipalities (ACM) and former government spokesperson, emphasizes that they had filed complaints that were not successful and that what they always do is "replace the estelades every time they are stolen." At the same time, she argues that it is "difficult to identify them": "I don't know if they intend to instill fear, but they are cowards who act at night and covered, who do not dare to do so in daylight –he concludes–. They will take it down at night and we will put it up during the day," she maintains about the estelada that presides over the town's roundabout. On the other hand, Cosculluela states that "people from the towns" also act there, but anonymously. In Calella, the emblematic estelada in Plaça de Catalunya has also been vandalized: "They do it so often that it's nothing special. We will replace it every time, they will not exhaust our patience or our money," remarks the mayor, Marc Buch. They do not file a complaint due to the lack of judicial recourse it has.

Useless attacks

In any case, most attacks are in vain. At the UAB, the pro-independence mural has been repainted again. And all the consulted town halls make it clear that every time they remove a Catalan flag, they replace it a few days later. "Obviously we will put it back, that's what we do every time they take them away from us," says the mayor of Llanars, Amadeu Rossell, who was not even aware that they had torn down a Catalan flag just a few days ago. In turn, the mayor of Seva, Pol Barnils, also reports a barrage of assaults. In this municipality, the symbiotic strategy with Impulso Ciudadano can be seen, which in 2023 achieved the removal of the Catalan flag from the facade of the Town Hall, by court order. On the other hand, the Catalan flag on the side facade of the town hall could not be removed. Despite this, there is another one on a pole at the entrance to the municipality that "is stolen two or three times a year" and that they "replace".

These brigades also post old videos as if they were current, to make it seem like they don't stop. This is corroborated by the mayors of Artés and Navàs. "Since the Diada, there has been a red Catalan flag and in the video you can see them tearing down a blue one," says Jaume Casals, the CUP mayor of the latter town.