Barcelona is going badly. Very badly. In fact, the city is going through its most delicate period since the arrival of Narcís Serra as mayor in 1979. With no political direction, with no majority for the government to give it stability, with no real will for agreements with the opposition, with mayor Ada Colau disappearing in the face of any conflict the people suffer and with problems like the dirt in the streets becoming chronic and others appearing, like the decrease in public safety, which has led to residents and businesspeople making up for the absence of the city’s Urban Guard with private surveillance.
There’s no stratum of the city which hasn’t raised its voice to decry the management of the city, from the most tenacious shopkeepers and hoteliers to the most recent arrivals: the conflict over street vendors, the enormous increase in rent. Bringing things full circle, the disastrous economic management has meant that, from talking about a city with a budget surplus which could cover all its projects, we’re talking about another in which has to suspend planned actions.
Barcelona cannot continue its drift much longer as it risks falling off the train of history. The momentum it was carrying has slowed its fall and covered up, in part, its decline. A permissive policy from the media who saw Colau as the last bastion to curb the independence movement have also helped dampen the criticism of frankly horrifying political activity.
It’s very likely that the mayor is running out her last months and a change might be possible. With separate or joint candidacies, with or without primaries, the independence movement has to fully throw itself into conquering the city hall. A project for a country without governing the capital is an incomplete project. There’s still time, but it’s also true there are still many things to do.