Two plainclothes officers disguised themselves at the teachers' assembly to assess the risks

BarcelonaIt was an assembly of teachers where the next mobilizations and how the planned strikes would be carried out were to be debated. According to the unions' version, it was a public and open meeting at Institut Pau Claris, in Barcelona, and two women attended who could not be identified. When questioned about their presence, they replied that they were teachers from an institute, but a professor from the same center said he did not know them. Immediately after, they left. Some of those present at the assembly, according to union sources, recognized those two women as mossas d'esquadra.

the criticisms of political parties have occurred and some formations like ERCThis Friday morning, the criticisms of political parties have occurred and some formations like ERC have called for the dismissal of the director general of the police, Josep Lluís Trapero. Also this Friday, the Catalan police have gone a step further and have wanted to clarify the "legal framework and the purpose of the actions that have generated public debate in recent days".

The two officers were from the General Information Commissioner's Office of the Catalan police, which often, as its name indicates, is dedicated to gathering information and police intelligence. "The explicit objective of these functions is to be able to carry out an assessment of threats and risks. This is not a discretionary decision by the police force: it is the fulfillment of a regulatory obligation", they state from the Mossos, and add that "these functions are included in the current decree of structure approved in 2023 and were also included in the previous one, from 2011".

Foresee scenarios

"The Mossos d'Esquadra respect and defend the right of assembly, the right to strike, and trade union freedom, just as we respect the rest of individual and collective rights, and we have the legal obligation to guarantee them all, as well as public safety. Our obligation is to ensure that these rights can be exercised safely for everyone. We are available to parliamentary groups to explain our actions," concludes the Catalan police.

It is common to see plainclothes officers from the General Information Police Station during demonstrations and protests. Sources from the force indicate that their function is to gather information to prevent scenarios and also to size up police deployments for future mobilizations. The act of entering an assembly, according to sources consulted by this newspaper, is not such a common dynamic.

Furthermore, it comes at a tense time between the Government and the majority teachers' unions, who have seventeen days of strike called before the end of the academic year and who have already requested a new meeting with the Minister of Education, Esther Niubó, before next Monday.