Thousands of people demonstrate in Barcelona against the chaos on the commuter rail network

BarcelonaThe commuter rail system is not working. The delays of between 20 and 60 minutes recorded on the lines this Saturday, coinciding with the day of demonstrations called in Barcelona, ​​are a prime example. However, after weeks of rail chaos, the expectations generated by the demonstrations have not been fully met. In the morning, the pro-independence demonstration brought together some 8,000 people in the center of Barcelona, ​​according to the Guardia Urbana (Barcelona's municipal police), along a route that made it clear it was not just a protest about the trains (between the Rafael Casanova monument and Plaça de Sant Jaume). In the afternoon, the Barcelona police estimated the number of demonstrators, called by commuter rail user groups, at 3,000. Much of the users' indignation, which is evident day after day in stations across the country, has remained at home. The organizers, who were unable to coordinate a single, unified demonstration, have given a generous estimate, claiming 30,000 protesters in the morning and 40,000 in the afternoon.

Pro-independence demonstration

"This isn't about trains, it's about dignity and our future, and the future of our nation." The Catalan independence movement is looking for opportunities to regain the strength it has been losing since the fall of 2017, and the rail chaos of recent weeks has opened one. The president of the Catalan National Assembly (ANC), Lluís Llach, made no secret of the fact that the commuter rail "disaster" is merely the tip of the iceberg of a demand that goes far beyond infrastructure. The chants, in fact, have been predominantly focused on independence and criticism of Spain. Like the 2007 demonstration, this Saturday morning's protest in Barcelona used rail transport as its central theme, but the core slogan was "independence." Between 8,000 people, according to the Barcelona City Police, and 30,000, according to the organizers (in 2007 the City Police estimated the number of demonstrators at 200,000, while the organizers, the Platform for the Right to Decide, raised the figure to 700,000), the number was estimated at 700,000; Santiago. At the end of the march, and in front of the Palau de la Generalitat (the Catalan government headquarters), Llach described Salvador Illa's government as "collaborative" and urged the pro-independence parties to overthrow the socialist governments, both in Catalonia and in Spain, in order to force elections "of a plebiscite nature."

"We have a bad government that only offers us decline as a nation and society. Enough of the complicity it finds! Let the Isla government fall, for being collaborationist and deceitful," exclaimed Llach, who, like Jordi Domingo, the president of the other convening entity (the Council of the Republic), had done earlier, called for independence. "We must scare the government in Madrid and the traitorous government of Catalonia," declared the leader of the ANC, calling for "the recovery of citizen mobilization."

For some years now, the number of demonstrators for the Diada has been declining, and the ANC has been distancing itself more and more from the political parties, seeing them subjugated to "autonomism." The profile of the morning's demonstrators was similar to that seen at the September 11th demonstrations, predominantly older people, although a group of young people also made an appearance, arguing that independence is "the only" way to solve Catalonia's problems. As they did 19 years ago, the organizers emphasized that the fiscal deficit—which they estimate at more than 25 billion euros annually—is the root of the structural problem, not only affecting the commuter rail system but also "healthcare, housing, the economy, agriculture, fishing, public services..." Alongside the organizing groups, representatives of pro-independence parties and Òmnium Cultural also demonstrated, and they will participate again in the afternoon's demonstration. Llach, who will not be present, expressed his openness to joining forces with the commuter rail users' platforms, but warned that "no one" will lecture them on the struggle to ensure Catalans have a decent train service. From Tremp, the Minister of the Presidency, Albert Dalmau, explained that he "understands and respects" the protesters' demonstrations, but that "frustration won't solve anything." Therefore, the Catalan Government has decided to "take the bull by the horns" and get to work to "fix the commuter rail service in Catalonia once and for all."