Barcelona council clears Vallcarca settlement after police operation

Barcelona City Council has carried out the eviction of the informal settlement at Vallcarca, located in the city's Gràcia district.

Cleaning and waste collection staff began to clear the site on Thursday morning, with at least four trucks and an excavator entering the fenced-off area to remove materials.

Protesters dispersed and called a new meeting for this afternoon after being pressured into a side street by police.

Police operation

Local police in Barcelona – the Guàrdia Urbana – surrounded protesters who had gathered on Thursday morning to prevent the clearing of makeshift housing in Vallcarca.

There was tension and pushing after riot police began to move the protesters under the pretext of creating space to allow an ambulance through if necessary.

Police surrounded the crowd of around 50 people and cleared them from the entrance to the shantytown.

Protesters shouted slogans such as 'It makes no sense – people without homes, homes without people."

Som Barri condemns council

Vallcarca's Som Barri neighborhood organization condemned Barcelona City Council for clearing the settlement and leaving the residents "on the street" with no alternative housing.

José González, a member of the group, explained that about twenty police vans from both the Guàrdia Urbana and Mossos d'Esquadra forces arrived at 7am on Thursday morning.

They proceeded to remove protesters and took down their details, employing a "violent attitude" according to González.

He lamented the lack of dialogue with the local council and said that the operation would also create a "work-related problem" because nearly 200 people who recycle scrap metal use the site to sort material.

González explained that there were currently few people living in the Vallcarca settlement, as "this process has been going on for more than two years." 

He added that it was a "lie" that social services had offered assistance and are monitoring the situation of affected individuals. "At most they give them one or two nights in a guesthouse, but nothing more", he said.

Fire

Barcelona City Council sources indicated that the decision to clear the site was taken after a fire in the area in the early hours of Wednesday morning in which one person was injured. Barcelona Fire Department carried out an inspection and found that there was an "imminent risk to people's safety."

On three previous occasions council staff went to the settlement to inspect it and were prevented from entering. The last of these attempts was made with judicial authorization.

The council began the administrative procedure to clear the site last March, opening four cases: one for the site with shacks located under the viaduct, and three for council owned properties that were occupied by squatters.

All four cases involved "substandard housing," the council said, presenting "safety risks" for the thirty or so people living there, six of whom were minors.

On April 26, around one thousand people participated in a demonstration through the streets of the neighborhood to defend a "Vallcarca for living" and protest against speculation in the neighborhood.