Trouble expected in Barcelona squatter eviction

Trouble is expected on Thursday in Barcelona when squatters are set to be evicted from buildings in Plaza Bonanova, ​​the Kubo and the Ruina.

The order of the magistrate of the court of first instance number 39 of Barcelona indicates that if the occupants do not voluntarily abandon the property, the Mossos d’Esquadra (Catalan Police) must enforce the mandate.

Tension is guaranteed, since as soon as the new eviction date was known, the squatters called for mobilisations starting at six in the morning under a forceful premise: “If the Kubo and the Ruina fall, the neighbourhood will burn.”

Both the Ruina, the house about which the eviction has been decided for this Thursday, and the adjacent office building, known as the Kubo, have been surrounded by controversies since they were squatted years ago. Neighbours have repeatedly reported nuisance and incivility, but the climax came in spring in the context of the municipal elections. Parties such as Valents, Ciutadans and Vox took advantage of the discontent to call demonstrations in favour of immediate eviction.

These mobilisations were joined by the company Desokupa, a private company dedicated to the eviction of properties, which made a massive call through the media and social networks to demonstrate in front of the buildings in Plaza Bonanova. At the same time and as a reaction, the groups in favour of the squatting called for demonstrations in the same place, which caused great environmental tension, without altercations arising.

However, given this new eviction order for this Thursday, November 30, the Kubo and La Ruina squatters have assured that they will be prepared “for anything” when they have to face an eviction attempt. In a statement they have indicated that “once again Sareb and the state will try to throw us out of the house”, but they have warned that this time “they will do worse” and that they are “ready to respond with all the fury”. In the same writing they affirm that “the Kubo and the Ruina are already eternal” and that they will continue to assume “everything that comes.”

The ruina is a house located in front of Plaza Bonanova that has been occupied since 2019. Previously, in 2016, the Kubo, an old office building adjacent to the Ruina, had been occupied. Both are connected through a small fence. Although it may seem that they are part of the same judicial process, each one has its own case in different courts.

In the Kubo process, the judge already determined that the squatters are not legitimate owners and that they have to be evicted. There was a first eviction attempt on March 23, but the Mossos considered that the necessary security was not guaranteed and suspended it. Just as they have done now before the eviction this Thursday, on that occasion, they placed dozens of metal fences and construction materials on the doors and windows to prevent access to the Mossos.

On the other hand, the residents of the La Bonanova neighbourhood ask that, when the buildings become empty, they be allocated to a new Primary Care Centre, CAP, as their closest medical centre is some distance away.

However, the City Council does not see the demand as feasible because the creation of a CAP is the responsibility of the Health Department of the Generalitat, and in addition, the classification of the land would have to be changed to another that would allow the construction of facilities.

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