Martorell will fine anyone who fills jugs from public fountains up to 750 euros.

MartorellThe Martorell City Council approved a ban on Monday prohibiting the filling of water jugs from the town's public fountains. This measure aims to prevent residents without access to piped water at home from collecting it for domestic use. The measure is included in the municipal coexistence ordinance, which the full council will amend with the support of the governing parties, Junts and the PSC. Specifically, the ban expressly prohibits the use of the fountains to "accumulate water using jugs, bottles, or any other type of container that allows for its storage." Violations will result in fines ranging from €100 to €750. For days now, the fountain where Jon (a pseudonym) gets his daily water supply has been dry, forcing him to walk over 500 meters to find another. "I don't know what we'll do without the fountains. Everyone on my blog is without water, and we have to come here every day too, because we have no alternative," he explains. He explains that in his building there are families with young children who, like him, are squatting because there is no affordable housing available. "What harm are we doing?" asks Jaume (also a pseudonym) upon learning of the planned measure while filling two 16-liter jugs. His elderly parents are waiting for him at home. "We drink, cook, and wash with this water," he explains, surprised. "Is it a crime to drink water now?" he concludes.

In the plenary session, the mayor, council member Xavier Fonollosa, admitted that the objective is to "make squatting more difficult" in order to "preserve social cohesion and coexistence," and asserted that he has the support of "85% of the population" to defend a "legitimate" measure that should put an end to it. "We don't like jobs," he emphasized, and described squatting as a social scourge while also assuring that the measure responds to a request from the citizens. The PSC justified its support for the ordinance amendment as necessary to "update" an "outdated" regulation, in force since 2006, which "sets limits" on uncivil behavior that "misuses public space," and indicated that it will serve to "protect public space." In the debate, the ERC group requested the withdrawal of the item, considering it "disproportionate" because it creates "a climate of criminalization" against the most vulnerable who must occupy or They live in shacks by the riverThe other opposition group, Movem Martorell, has announced it will take the ordinance to court to "stop it" and has criticized the wording of the regulation for creating "legal uncertainty" because, based on its literal interpretation, a fine could be issued simply "for filling a canteen." The organizations PAH and Papers para Todos have also rejected the measure as "classist."

Refusal to register

This is not the first time the mayor of Martorell has taken action against squatters. In fact, he is one of the Catalan mayors who have publicly admitted their involvement. refusal to comply with the municipal obligation to register All residents, and has indicated that only if a judge orders it will it agree to register neighbors who do not have a rental contract.

For the Baix Llobregat Nord PAH (Platform of People Affected by Mortgages), cutting off the water to the fountains is part of a "declared war against the poor, squatters, and the most vulnerable," and they accuse Fonollosa of "using" the Local Police to "intimidate families" living in homes without a contract.

For its part, ECAS (Catalan Social Action Entities) calls the municipal decision a "ridiculous and out-of-place measure" because it punishes people who, out of necessity, must go to the fountains to get water for cooking, drinking, or washing, while the focus is not placed "on either the waste" or the waste of public bills, points out Lluís Puigdemont, a member of the entity's working group for the right to housing. "Their true colors are showing," he emphasizes, arguing that the two-party government in Martorella is copying the policies of far-right forces.

Furthermore, the Martorella initiative is a repeat of the one undertaken by the city council of Salt a decade ago, when he shut down all the fountains in the municipality arguing that misuse caused significant expense and posed a risk to public health. On that occasion, the ombudsman accepted the justifications of the City Council, then controlled by CiU, in contrast to social organizations and the opposition party Independents per Salt, who considered the water cut-off an injustice to the poorest residents.