Bonanova squat houses now at epicenter of Barcelona's housing debate
Heightened police presence at protest attracting opposing sides this Thursday
Plaça Bonanova square may be located in Barcelona's wealthy 'zona alta', but it is not immune to the city's housing woes.
Home to the El Kubo and La Ruïna squat houses since 2016 and 2019, respectively, tension in the area has been boiling over as of late.
The buildings are owned by Sareb, Spain's bad bank, and while residents of El Kubo were initially set to be evicted last March, this has been delayed to a yet-to-be-determined date.
Opposing sides protest
Both squatters and Desokupa, a private company used by property owners to forcibly remove unwanted occupants, have called for protests this Thursday at 9 pm.
El Kubo and La Ruïna inhabitants have called the protests as they claim to be the target of "attacks on a daily basis" especially now that right-wing and far-right parties Ciudadanos, Valents and Vox have positioned themselves against them ahead of the May 28 local elections.
A Ciudadanos event in the square last month ended in police charges, and all three parties accuse the squatters of vandalism.
Mossos d'Esquadra police, meanwhile, have already announced they will close off access to the square and prevent Desokupa from kicking out the buildings' inhabitants - the company's controversial founder, Daniel Esteve, has made remarks on social media in recent days suggesting they would do so.
Police, who cannot evict the squatters without a warrant, also stated that they have plainclothes officers patrolling the area permanently.
Over a fifth of Spain's evictions in Catalonia
Catalonia saw more evictions than any other part of Spain last year, according to official data released in February.
Around 22% of all evictions in Spain in 2022 took place in Catalonia, where there were 8,574.
Most of them, 6,160, were the result of falling behind on rent, while 1,567 were foreclosures.
The figures also show that squatters being evicted accounted for 657 of the 8,574 evictions in Catalonia in 2022.
Filling the Sink podcast
Another building, Casa Orsola, in Barcelona's Eixample neighborhood has become a symbol of the city's struggle with gentrification, as long-term renters find themselves priced out of their homes. The first eviction of one of its residents was suspended on Monday.
Press play below to listen to the Filling the Sink podcast episode released last November.