New riots due to a failed occupation attempt, now in Mataró

BarcelonaJust a month ago, Nightly riots continued in Salt, in Gironès, following the eviction of a local imam. Now, history is repeating itself in Mataró: on Wednesday night, police arrested a person trying to occupy a home. The arrest led to street protests and four nights of clashes in the Cerdanyola neighborhood of the capital of Maresme. So far, the total is eight arrests and around twenty containers burned.

The latest night of clashes was Tuesday, resulting in three minors arrested and two containers burned. A fourth minor was handed over to his parents; he is now under 14 years old and could not be arrested. For the past week, the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) have implemented a public order operation. Toni Rodríguez, the superintendent of the Mossos d'Esquadra headquarters, stated that his goal is to "bring peace" so that there are no individuals, associations, or groups that want to set "their own rules." "Many don't know why they do it," he said in statements to RAC1. Rodríguez also referred to "the layer of systemic problems" that cause these situations, and affirmed that the solution is not solely police-led.

On the night of Monday to Tuesday, around sixty people also gathered around Onze de Setembre square, in the same Cerdanyola neighborhood, and clashed with the Mossos d'Esquadra police, throwing eggs and burning trash cans. The police arrested a minor for these latest incidents, and he is accused of public disorder, causing damage, and assaulting law enforcement officers.

Over the past few days, the Fire Department has received a total of 35 calls for urban fires involving the burning of containers, waste bins, and vehicles. The City Council's damage report shows around twenty containers burned in the neighborhood—and another six in the rest of the city—and three vehicles also burned. "Violence will not take place in the city. It will not go unchallenged," said Mayor David Bote.

The Housing Union admits that the situation in the neighborhood is "very heated" and that conflicts have been "on the verge of erupting" for some time. "The neighborhood has a structural problem related to access to housing. There is a lot of tension and a lot of anxiety," Pilar Sánchez, spokesperson for the group, told ACN. The union also criticized the police deployment of the Local Police and Mossos d'Esquadra, which, they say, has generated "more tension."

The riots on Monday night occurred after a neighborhood meeting called by the Housing Union itself, which maintains that the meeting was "peaceful," but that an "excessive" police presence ended up inflaming tempers among a group of people who were fighting.

Political Reaction

In response to the incidents, the People's Party (PP) is now demanding an explanation from the Catalan government and requesting the appearance of Interior Minister Núria Parlon before a parliamentary committee. "Catalonia is suffering the effects of growing insecurity," lamented Juan Fernández, the PP spokesperson in Parliament, in a press conference. The MP compared these incidents to those experienced a few weeks ago in Salt, following the eviction of the town's imam. "This isn't a one-day thing or a one-off issue," he emphasized.

Vox has also used the incident to campaign. in situ: Its leader in Catalonia, Ignacio Garriga, has traveled to Mataró and has attacked what he has called "an insurrection by Islamists who do not want to accept the laws." "It is a consequence of the open-door policy towards illegal immigration. We will return the streets to the Catalans," he wrote to X. In this sense, the union spokesperson regrets that there are parties like Vox that take advantage of any opportunity to "generate hatred" and spread "racist speeches."

At the same time, without naming any group in particular, the mayor also said that extremist groups live "in confrontation" and has asked them to abandon this attitude.