The eviction of the Joan Miró Park settlement in Barcelona is underway.

BarcelonaThe Barcelona City Police and the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) have begun the eviction of the Parc Joan Miró settlement in Barcelona's Eixample district. Around the library, in an area of porches, around thirty people are living in tents. The police operation, as ARA has been able to verify, began early Tuesday morning. Municipal police officers asked the homeless to begin removing their belongings, and they agreed. They are currently collecting them. Cleaning and municipal social services teams are also present.

This settlement has been at the center of political and neighborhood debate in recent years. Two weeks ago, within the city council, the Junts (Junts) and PSC (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) groups—which govern the Catalan city—agreed on a text requesting a measure to resolve this situation. This settlement has been established in this city center park for years, and the two groups had agreed on a text calling for solutions as soon as possible. The action was not long in coming.

A week after this agreement, the ombudsman, Esther Giménez-Salinas, also focused on the situation of this park. Specifically, she asked the City Council for measures to ensure that Parc Joan Miró could once again fulfill its social and environmental function "in conditions of dignity and safety." The ombudsman had received complaints about the state of occupation and conservation of this space. Some were residents expressing their discontent with the loss of green space, the lack of general maintenance of the park, and the prolonged occupation of part of the space by the Fire Station, the construction of the L8 line of the Catalan Railways (Catalan Railways), and the work on the groundwater network. The complaints also included criticism of the situation of those living in the park "in inadequate conditions."