"This is a pressure cooker": Mataró tests the PSC's law-and-order rhetoric.

BarcelonaThe riots in the Cerdanyola neighborhood of Mataró a week ago have put the city government, the PSC (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party), and En Comú Podem (Common People's Party) on the ropes. It all began with an attempted occupation of an empty apartment that sparked a... a wave of protests due to the housing crisis in the neighborhood, as already happened in Salt with the eviction of its imam. And, as also happened then, the PP and Vox have taken advantage of the riots—with burned containers and vehicles and a dozen arrests—to accuse the Socialists of neglecting their duties in matters of security. In response, the mayor of Mataró, David Bote, has promised to take a firm stance against the events, which he accuses "extremist groups" (right-wing and left-wing) of instigating and exploiting. In coordination with the Ministry of the Interior, police presence in the neighborhood—with high poverty rates and 26% of residents of foreign origin—and the identification of young people has been increased. This heavy-handed strategy has been criticized by the Housing Union and several anti-racist organizations in the city, who believe that the PSC has preferred to assimilate its discourse to that of the right and far right instead of paying attention to the social unrest following the protests.

Despite the criticism, the PSC (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) remains on course and guarantees that it will not hesitate to act against illegal employment, a banner that was once raised by the current Minister of the Interior, Núria Parlon, when she was mayor of Santa Coloma de Gramenet. Since the last municipal elections, the PSC has considered it crucial to focus on security to prevent the flight of votes to the far right, especially in view of the upcoming municipal elections. Socialist sources claim that, beyond the "minority" that protests, the residents of a poor neighborhood like Cerdanyola want the public authorities to guarantee their freedom to go out safely, like other areas in Catalonia with similar problems that Vox and the Catalan Alliance are seeking to capitalize on. A thesis shared by En Comú Podem, although the municipal group also makes no secret of its differences with Bote's "way of expressing himself," whom several sources agree on as being on the more conservative side of the PSC.

On the other hand, Podemos (despite being part of the coalition) has publicly distanced itself from the municipal government's position. in a new municipal clash with ComunsThe purple party cried foul at the government's labeling of both housing rights unions and Vox as "extremist groups." "It is precisely this intolerable equidistance and inaction against the real causes of the housing crisis that leads to desperate situations on our streets," they stated in a statement. Comú Podem, in particular, is in charge of housing within the government, having joined in 2019. In the agreement with the PSC, they were forced to commit to implementing the 30% reservation of land for social housing. –a measure that the socialists have declared war on in Barcelona– and activate more social housing.

An eviction is scheduled for Tuesday

There have been no new disturbances in Cerdanyola this week, but residents warn that the neighborhood could explode again at any moment. "It's a pressure cooker," a resident linked to the association told ARA. Not long ago, another eviction of a family was scheduled for next Tuesday. At the meeting convened by the Housing Union on Monday, April 14, up to 300 people gathered, and their discontent with the evictions of recent months was evident: on February 25, for example, the eviction of a family with four children had already caused significant tension in the neighborhood due to the high number of evictions. According to various sources present, the meeting was peaceful, with the participation of young people, families, and activists. According to their account of the events, it was some very young boys who broke away from the good atmosphere and started a fight with the police. As a result, the president of the Cerdanyola mosque attempted to mediate to prevent a repeat of the clashes, and the Mossos d'Esquadra are in contact with representatives of the community to gauge the residents' anger. However, according to sources present at these meetings, there are even voices within the police force who admit that the housing crisis is a tinderbox in the neighborhood.

All the neighborhood associations have unanimously condemned the acts of vandalism, but they also warn the city council that the response cannot be solely police intervention and that it must address the root of the problem. Officially, the City Council disassociates one from the other. "We mustn't conflate things. There are extremist groups on both sides that are exploiting these disturbances for their own interests," insisted Mataró's Councilor for Security, Núria Moreno. For now, the council has agreed to create a housing committee with the entities to analyze what to do about evictions of vulnerable people, which could be voted on in the plenary session on May 8.

Vox exploits a new incident

Beyond the protests, the far right has taken advantage of a new incident in the neighborhood to once again attack immigration. This is the beating that three minors inflicted on a 13-year-old boy on the afternoon of April 23rd on Sant Sebastià Street, next to the La Lámpara School and the Puig i Cadafalch Institute. The video went viral after it was published by local media. Bighead. In statements to TV Mataró This Monday, Bote condemned the attack, which went against the promise of "zero tolerance," and also the racist graffiti that appeared in the center. He also explained that they are in contact with the victim's family: "We want to express our full support. I also want to highlight the swift action of the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police)." The far-right, pro-Spanish forces are counterattacking, and even their leader, Santiago Abascal, addressed the incident to assert that "only Vox" is denouncing "this reality."