"The residents are satisfied": clash between Albiol and the Badalona opposition over the eviction of the B9

The opposition in Badalona City Council took advantage of the extraordinary plenary session called for this Wednesday to criticize Albiol for his handling of the eviction. The issue was not on the agenda, but parties ranging from the PSC to ERC, Badalona En Comú Podem, and Guanyem Badalona demanded explanations from the mayor regarding the "humanitarian crisis" facing the city. However, the mayor responded that "the issue is almost resolved, if not resolved." He added: "The residents are, in very general terms, satisfied with the actions of their government." Dolors Sabater, of Guanyem, described as "extremely serious" the fact that the PP government evicted the 400 people from building B9 without offering them any alternative housing in the middle of winter. Aïda Llauradó (En Comú Podem) blamed them for "creating chaos," "singling out and discriminating against migrants," and fueling "hate speech," while the Republican Àlex Montornès described the attitude toward the deported migrants as shameful and appealed to the spirit of the people. "The solution isn't to shut down accommodations in parishes or to call for burning down shelters," he emphasized. What most angered Albiol, however, was the intervention of the PSC representative, Christian Carneado, who thanked the Generalitat—also led by the Socialists—for acting in the face of the municipal government's "dereliction of duty" and "lack of humanity," and reminded everyone that the Public Prosecutor's Office is investigating the matter. "We should reflect on this and apologize," he told Albiol. The mayor, who agreed to speak because the issue is "current," responded that "things have started to work out well when there has been institutional collaboration. And I'll leave it at that," he said, suggesting that the Catalan government had not cooperated until now. Having said that, the Popular Party member doubled down on his defense of his actions regarding the B9 building. "It wasn't an action against irregular immigration or against immigrants. Badalona has immigrants, and they are welcome if they come to work. It was an action against illegal employment," he said. "I don't care if the squatters are black or white, handsome or ugly. This is our line of work, and we will continue to pursue it," he concluded. The Comuns and Podemos parties are filing a complaint against Albiol.

Jaume Asens, a Member of the European Parliament for the Comuns party, has also filed a complaint against the mayor of Badalona for the eviction of the former B9 Institute in Badalona. As he explained to Catalunya Ràdio, Asens accuses Albiol of denying public services for discriminatory reasons, hate crimes, disobeying a court order, and administrative malfeasance. "Albiol thinks Badalona is the United States and that he can act like Trump, but he cannot be above the law," he said on Wednesday. The MEP recalled that the court order authorizing the eviction stipulated that the mayor must provide an alternative, which the Badalona City Council has failed to do. In fact, Albiol has repeatedly stated that the council "would not offer accommodation or residential resources." This Tuesday The Prosecutor's Office has already asked the judge who authorized the eviction to request explanations from the City Council. Regarding what measures have been taken to protect the vulnerable people who have been evicted, Asens asserts that Albiol selectively denied assistance to the migrants based on their origin and social status, which would constitute a denial of public service on discriminatory grounds. The Comuns representative also points out that incitement to hatred does not require explicit expressions to be committed. He further argues that there is evidence of repeated disobedience in the Badalona city council's failure to effectively comply with the court order authorizing the eviction. Podemos has also filed a complaint with the Public Prosecutor's Office alleging that a "real and sufficient" residential reception system was not organized during the eviction. In a statement, the party recalls that the eviction was authorized by a judge "with express conditions" such as the principle of proportionality, the application of the municipal protocol for assisting homeless people, and the provision of effective social care, including the offer of residential resources. Podemos believes that these conditions have not been met and considers that crimes of failure to provide assistance, administrative malfeasance, and offenses against moral integrity may have been committed.

Faced with this situation, the Government also took action this Tuesday. The Department of Social Rights signed an agreement with the entities to to provide shelter to all those who have settled under the C-31 bridge since SaturdayThis also applies to the dozen or so people who had occupied the former municipal shelter of Can Bufí Vell, which has been closed for almost two years. The agreement guarantees accommodation for the next two months in different locations in Catalonia and also means foregoing the shelter at the parish of Our Lady of Montserrat, the space that could not be opened on Sunday due to a blockade by a few dozen residents.

"On this point, we have taken a very pragmatic stance. We needed to provide resources for these people and [...] we will not put them in a place where their safety could be at risk," explained Martínez Bravo on Catalunya Ràdio, who questioned the "humanity" of the Badalona government in making this decision.