More than 100 people evicted from an illegal campsite in Mataró

BarcelonaJesús Sánchez explains that the person who rented them the plot had deceived them all along and has now fled. "We called him, but he didn't answer. He's gone," he says. He and his family lived in the illegal campsite that the police evicted this Monday on rural land in Mataró. According to census data, 85 people were living there, and another 44 were undergoing the registration process. However, more people were reportedly spending the night at this campsite, which Barcelona's first investigating court ordered to be evicted. "Suddenly, we found ourselves on illegal land," another man complains, saying he feels deceived.

The camp is located on the Mata road—which connects Mataró with Llavaneres—occupies approximately 15 hectares and has existed since at least 2021, when the City Council began to receive reports of the first complaints from residents. In total, there were a dozen properties subdivided into around 160 plots, half of which were to be second homes, some equipped with swimming pools and barbecues, while the bulk of the plots were occupied by vulnerable people.

More than 150 officers from the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police), the Civil Guard, the National Police, and the Local Police, as well as 150 municipal technicians, participated in Monday's operation. The eviction comes after Mataró City Council requested it due to the high risk of fire in the area (among other reasons, due to fraudulent electricity connections) and after the company leasing the land was asked to voluntarily dismantle the settlement.

"A first aid" residential

In fact, the police are also investigating those responsible for managing the plots. The land is owned by Inmobiliaria Mar, which rents it to two brothers who use the company Nayla BNS to operate the allegedly irregular business, subletting the space in small plots. In this regard, the Central Area of Economic Crimes of the Criminal Investigation Division (DIC) and the Environmental Division of the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan Police) searched two homes and a business premises simultaneously with the eviction.

The mayor of Mataró, David Bote, has defended the action as an "exercise of responsibility" that seeks to "protect the people" who lived there due to the risk of fire, and has assured that "initial assistance" will be given to those who may need it. However, the number is unknown. In this regard, the mayor stated that the City Council has attempted on several occasions to access the space but has been repeatedly prevented. "Many elements are very new now, and Social Services will assess what responses we can put together," he stressed.