Barcelona, political situation

[JOHN 57]

we will be in Barcelona in April and I have the seperation leader was arrested in Germany, and I am wondering about the political situation. Is it safe. Thank you, John

[EnricM]

If the Spanish paramilitary police do not exercise violence again -like they did on the day of the referendum- everything will be fine.There has never been violence on the part of the Catalan demonstrators not even on the biggest rallies, gathering 2 million people. Lots of shouting but always peaceful. But if the Spanish send again their stormtroopers to Catalonia, nothing is then guaranteed. If so, stay away from these troops, they can be very violent -as the world saw last October.

[JOHN 57]

thanks so much for the information.

[WelshieLover]

We were there in December right before the vote. There were a lot of flags flying but we witnessed no problems. Such a lovely city. Always felt safe walking around.

 

 

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[EnricM]

Also stay away from the troublemakers, there are always individuals that take any opportunity to stir up for uncalled trouble. In the "incidents" we had a few days ago, several anarchists were detained and at least one Spanish police undercover officer was identified by the Catalan police -whether he was acting on his own accord or not is not known though, at least publicly.

 

In many of rallies and demonstrations, when there's someone trying to provoke violence he tends to be pointed out by the rest so he can feel pressured and hopefully leave. Obviously, this works when the troublemaking is just by an individual or two.That's how we do demonstrate here. Violence is not the aim -of the majority at least. In any case, sadly the violence is mostly not executed by the demonstrators but by the sometimes savagery of the police trying to repress a peaceful demonstration. There can be shouting but that never justified unrestrained police charges, do they? I would imagine the dark past of the fascism in Spain is still too present in the acts of some.

 

Anyhow, the advice for visitors is always to avoid potentially charged situations right? after all is not your call and you're simply passing by. That's what I've always done when travelling abroad and confronted with demonstrations. In any case, one immediately sees when it's a peaceful demonstration or whether it can turn ugly. Just use common sense.

Edited March 27, 2018 by EnricM

[JOHN 57]

good morning and thank you.