Andrés Hinajeros's national identity card is atypical in two ways. First, it's permanent—without an expiration date—having been issued twenty years before he turned 70. Second, it doesn't bear his signature. This is a strange concession from the administration to Hinajeros, who has been paralyzed from strength to mobility in his arms and hands since May 1974, when, as a young man in his twenties, he became a paraplegic. He endured four grueling years of hospitalization during which he confesses his only desire was to die. But he has recovered and today says he feels content with life, to the point that he celebrates both his biological birthday and May 17th—which, as he says, "is the day I was reborn." "I'm happy," he says, "I live with quadriplegia, but I've accepted it." In this second phase of his life, he has married, had a son, and owned an orthopedics shop until his retirement. Retirement has led him to focus on obtaining official recognition of his fingerprint. He complains that banks and notaries do not allow him to use his fingertip to sign documents, offering him only the option of bringing two witnesses or appointing a guardian—requirements that make him feel like "a slave who needs masters," even though each fingerprint is unique. This has happened to him recently when making his will. "Many times they tell me to have my wife come and sign, but I am fully capable and they won't let me be free," he laments. The procedure he requests is simple, and he performs it with the help of his wife or the personal assistant who accompanies him for daily tasks: pressing the pad of his thumb into a small box with a pad moistened with blue ink until it is imprinted, and then stamping the fingerprint onto a sheet of paper. He has complained to several organizations, but always receives a negative response. "They tell me they're doing it to protect me, but the bottom line is that if you have a disability, you cease to be a person. They don't see me, they see my wheelchair." Sources at the Notarial Association justify this by citing Article 195 of the Spanish Notarial Regulations, which states that if a person is unable to sign a document, they can delegate their signature to another person or appoint a witness to verify their identity. Hinarejos finds this argument absurd and points out that the imposition of witnesses represents a loss of privacy and autonomy.

For five years, the Union of Mothers in Functional Diversity has been fighting for the rights of people with disabilities and their caregivers. The group—which brings together mothers and sisters from several generations—denounces systematic mistreatment by the administration due to bureaucracy and a underfunding of services and activitiesHowever, in the last five years they have earned the right to be direct interlocutors with the regional ministry and a major social entity.

With 2025 over, the budget for the Plan that provided some relief to families with members with severe disabilities has also run out. "What should we do now?" they ask, exhausted by the scarcity of the so-called breathsTemporary stay programs in residences for people with disabilities so that families can have a break. Furthermore, these are families forcibly impoverished so that the dependency or disability entails an additional economic cost in therapies, prostheses, and caregivers that are not always covered by the public administration.

Culture and social services. Theater and inclusion. Two areas severely lacking in public resources. If we add to this the fact that we're talking about Juneda, a town of 3,500 inhabitants in Les Garrigues, one could say that its continuity (never interrupted) is its greatest success.

Architectural barriers that prevent access to buildings or public transport; denials of curricular adaptations and lack of empathy from medical staff; inability to follow courses or shows or to understand official documents by theabsence of the easy-to-read versionThese are, broadly speaking, the main reasons behind the 248 complaints received by the Catalan Committee of Representatives of People with Disabilities (Cocarmi) in 2024, highlighting that, despite progress, accessibility remains the biggest challenge while awaiting government approval of the pact. The organization reports that physical, communication, and administrative barriers continue to limit the full participation of people with disabilities in social, educational, and working life. While acknowledging recent regulatory advances—such as the approval of the Accessibility Code—and the implementation of best practices, it warns that these are insufficient without increased investment to address shortcomings, clear implementation timelines, and effective monitoring mechanisms to track progress. According to the report, 248 complaints of rights violations were registered in 2024. Of these, 40 relate to accessibility issues at facilities and buildings, or to official websites that are not adapted for people with visual impairments. Additionally, 31 complaints were received in the education sector, which can be summarized as follows: inclusive education is a recognized right on paper, but in practice, it is not guaranteed for everyone. This includes a lack of trained staff or specific support in mainstream schools, as reported by parents who were invited to enroll their daughter with Down syndrome. In the healthcare sector (24 complaints), the complaints focus on services that are not adapted to people with disabilities. For example, a woman with quadriplegia was denied a diagnostic test because the center did not have a hoist to transfer her from her chair to a bed in another location, despite her refusal. Among the demands is that hearing aids and cochlear implants be free of charge for those over 26. In the leisure, culture, and sports sectors, there are also complaints about the lack of after-school programs and summer camps for children with disabilities, the impossibility of attending concerts or plays due to a lack of adaptations for blind or deaf people, and the difficulty of entering pavilions or auditoriums. "There are reserved seating areas in cinemas that slope downwards. How are you supposed to manage in a wheelchair?" one of the complainants asks.

From steps to enter shops, to train stations without elevators or with broken escalators, to the lack of empathy from the staff member on duty, complaints about violations of the rights of people with disabilities are on the rise, although very few of those affected decide to take the step of reporting them. This is confirmed by the latest report prepared by Ecom, the foundation that brings together organizations in the sector, which in 2024 collected 352 cases, 50% more than the previous year. "We would never stop filing complaints; we experience a constant violation of our rights," explain the people interviewed for the report that summarizes their daily lives.

One year after theapproval of the ELA law, the Spanish government creates the III+ degree of extreme dependency that must guarantee the rights of those suffering from this incurable neurodegenerative disease to receive specialized services 24 hours a day. The Minister of Social Rights, Pablo Bustinduy, announced this Tuesday that patients in a more advanced stage of the disease will receive a benefit "of up to 10,000 euros per month" to cover the costs of the professional caregivers they need to survive.

The 1970s were a time of many changes in Catalan society. In this context of political and social liberation, one of the quietest revolutions was that of those families who had a child with a mental disability. Subnormal, retarded, handicapped, disabled, incapacitated, and handicapped. These were times when there were no euphemisms to describe a family burden, not only physical but also emotional. These were times when all those with a mental disability were hidden in their homes, away from the prying eyes and prejudices of a still very immature society.

This Tuesday's protest is the second in two months that the Union of Mothers with Functional Diversity (SinMaDiF) has called before the Ministry of Social Rights and Inclusion to demand more financial and human resources to cover the needs of dependent people and their primary caregivers, a role that falls in 90% of cases on mothers, women, or women. They denounce that "the abandonment" they suffer is institutional sexist violence because, when a family member is diagnosed, "rights go out the window" and the family is left with the "horrible loneliness" of having to seek services, resources, and support to get by. "We can't take it anymore!" they exclaim.

These days, families are searching and considering offers from administrations and organizations to fill part of their little ones' summer vacation with activities and leisure activities. Prices vary widely, depending on the days and hours of attendance, whether the child spends the night away, and the type of activity. Prices range from approximately €100 for a week of eight-hour summer camps to €300 or €400 for five or six days of summer camps. However, these are the prices for activities for children who don't need any specialized support. In contrast, for children with significant disabilities, the rates soar, even multiplying by two.