Both the Spanish and Catalan governments might be tempted to think that the commuter rail crisis is irrelevant, given the modest turnout at Saturday's demonstrations, which were far from the scale of the disaster. But that would be a mistake. Participation in a demonstration depends on many factors, and it's clear that Saturday's events didn't achieve the expected success. To begin with, the two demonstrations—one in the morning focused on independence and another in the afternoon with broader appeal—may have contributed to the low turnout. The announced participation of the far right may have deterred some who didn't want to share a banner with those who question the foundations of democracy. Also contributing to the problem is that, in reality, everyone knew the demonstration wasn't going to change anything, because this disaster, as political leaders have been emphasizing these past few days, can't be fixed in two days. And finally, there was the lack of a clear political objective, such as the resignation of Regional Minister Paneque or Minister Puente, which the organizers of the unified demonstration weren't demanding.

Solidarity with Palestine spilled over into the center of Barcelona this Saturday at noon in the largest demonstration organized so far in the Catalan capital against the genocide in Gaza. A black tide—the organization requested that Palestinians wear that color as a sign of mourning—crowned by a multitude of Palestinian flags, which the Guardia Urbana estimated at 70,000 people, and the organizers have raised to 300,000. Beyond the usual whirlwind of numbers, the success of the demonstration, which more than 600 organizations joined, is a resounding demonstration of support for the demand that institutions boycott and isolate Israel.

Failure to adhere to schedules, cancelled trains, breakdowns... Incidents on the Catalan rail service are constant, especially as trains leave Barcelona and head deeper into the country. This Saturday, for example, the service between Altafulla and Sant Vicenç del Calders didn't run during the morning, and there hasn't been a single day in the last three weeks without train problems. For years, commuter and regional train users in Catalonia have complained that the network is deficient and unreliable, and today, despite the rain, nearly a thousand people from all over the country took to the streets simultaneously, to different cities, to say the least.

Catalonia accounts for 44% of rights violations in protest contexts throughout the State in 2024, according to the Defender en Quien Defiende (DfD) platform, The report, presented this Thursday in Madrid, reports 228 cases affecting 1,029 people and with a minimum of 1,140 violations, which are reflected in fines, police identifications, arrests, infiltrations, legal proceedings, disproportionate use of force, etc. This is a substantial increase compared to the last two years - 314 in 2022 and 870 in 2023 -, especially due to the number of mobilizations that have taken place in solidarity with Palestine. Specifically in Catalonia, of the 100 cases detected, the majority are due to protests for the right to housing, followed by demonstrations against the war in Gaza and, thirdly, feminists.

Two loud protests greeted the conference given yesterday afternoon by Supreme Court judge Manuel Marchena at the Bar Association of Barcelona (ICAB). Hundreds of people – 400 according to the police – gathered outside the building to protest against the presence of the president of the court that tried and sentenced the leaders of the Independence bid. In addition twenty lawyers present at the event, which dealt with artificial intelligence and criminal proceedings and to which journalists were denied access, stood up and left the conference in protest.

The fishing sector is sending out a distress signal. The new European law which imposes a 40% reduction in trawl catches by 2025 has set Catalan and Valencian fleets on the warpath. Fishermen warn that the regulation endangers the continuity of one in two boats, according to calculations by the president of the Catalan federation of guilds, Antoni Abad. "We cannot keep boats that can only go out 120, 150 or 180 days a year, depending on the type of boat. We must to be allowed to work and we must all be allowed to do so equally", claims the fisherman, who also warns that if their demands are not met they will have to organise "more protest actions" because the entire fishing sector "is in danger".

He has done it: he has confessed some facts that he has not committed. Worse still, he has undertaken to pay substantial compensation for the repair of the damage made to a police van that he has not damaged, and compensation for the injuries of an officer who fell while beating him to arrest him. This decision hurts in anyone's soul: to defend one's dignity and truth, or to give in and buy security. This confession will swell the poisoned statistics that tomorrow will be used to show that the system works: police forces write up statements, the prosecution and private prosecutors hold up charges based on these statements, and finally a sentence is passed that closes the circle and validates the whole gear. Once the agreement is closed, a trial will be held. This trial is reduced to a bargain: the accusations reduce the penalty to ensure the accused person does not enter prison, in exchange for admitting the facts and the penalty. Our confession will serve to show that the police officers arrested the right person, that the prosecution and the other charges also charged the right person, and that the sentence has convicted the right person. What is clearer than a confession, to show that someone is guilty?