A massive protest has filled the Plaza de la Gardunya, in the Raval neighborhood of Barcelona, against the eviction of the old Massana school. Thousands of people, 1,000 according to the Guàrdia Urbana and 12,000 according to the organizers, took to the streets this Friday afternoon to demand a municipal concession so that “the old Massana can stay in the neighborhood.” The building, occupied for four years, is awaiting eviction by the City Council.
The demonstration was called after the council sent a delegation of municipal technicians this Thursday who, without interacting with the groups installed in the space, verified that the administrative eviction could not be carried out. The next step for Barcelona City Council consists of request eviction through judicial means. “We don’t know what will happen but we are calm,” said the spokesperson for the former Massana, Elena Martín.
At half past five in the afternoon the route of the demonstration began, which the organizers have kept secret until the end. The protesters started the march from behind the Boquería market, headed towards the Rambla, passed through Plaza Cataluña and went down Via Laietana. Under chants such as “PSC, evictors” or “Barcelona for the working class”, they reached Plaza Sant Jaume, where they stopped in front of the City Hall.
The march coincided with the façade of the town hall lighting up in pink – the same color that characterizes the old Massana – in a rehearsal for the day against breast cancer, which will be celebrated tomorrow. In the square, protesters have launched firecrackers and balloons filled with paint of the same color. The march ended by arriving back at the Plaza de la Gardunya and after reciting a manifesto from the entities that occupy the space.
A space “under popular control”
The municipal building of the old Massana school It was occupied in 2020 by the Raval Mutual Support Network to distribute food to neighbors who were left homeless during the pandemic. Since then, nine more entities have joined, including the Raval Housing Union, the neighborhood popular school and the Matilde Landa popular gym.
According to the protesters, the City Council’s project consists of building a tunnel to facilitate the passage of tourists to the Boqueria market, works that have not yet been confirmed by municipal sources. This same week, Albert Batlle, councilor of Ciutat Vella, warned that he would not resume dialogue with the occupants until they vacated the building. Currently, the process is judicialized and the organizers expect an eviction order in the coming months.
