Between the paqui and the expat, Barcelonans have been observing for years how the physiognomy of our shops and homes changes without fully understanding why, why now, why like this. Barcelonaness is a treasure as much in need of protection as Londonness, Parisianness, or Berlinness: the rise of the far-right responds to the feeling that our streets appear surprisingly full of newcomers, and I say surprisingly so as not to say too much, but in truth the far-right says too much and that "too much" is as vague as it is dangerous.
At the same time, the far-left defends the occupation of homes no longer in the face of any immigration phenomenon, but in the face of the speculative phenomenon, which also affects the figure of newcomers, but newcomers with money. This sandwich, between the corner chino and the startupista from 22@ with a penthouse in Barcelona and a surf house in Biarritz, generates an anger that does not always result in a leaning towards the far-right: often the reaction is to occupy a home or, rather, to leave. To feel that your city is no longer yours, that is, that you no longer recognize it… or that you can no longer afford it, that is, that it is better than you.
Many solutions to housing prices have been proposed, such as limiting purchases to foreigners (as Andorra or the Balearic Islands have proposed), but the problem is legal and specifically concerns such basic rights as freedom of movement or private property. Besides, it is too difficult to make a law that distinguishes between the rights of wealthy foreigners and foreigners we directly call immigrants: no, they cannot have different rights. Nobody. Which leads us unfailingly not only to the search for land to build public housing, but above all to the search for decent wages for Barcelonans. This would be the most liberal and most socialist solution, at the same time, the most acceptable to both extremes of the ideological spectrum. Simply, that in this country people are not poor, even if they combine two or three jobs.
Raising wages does not mean (only) establishing a minimum wage, but truly standardizing Barcelona's labor force with that of European countries, and this is not only a state or regional competence: the City Council could simply stop contracting companies that do not meet minimum remuneration standards, and not minimums in the sense of a minimum wage, but minimums in the sense of European standardization. This is legal, and it is viable. It is promotion, it is positive discrimination, it is forcing, without forcing, companies to get their act together. The best social justice, but also the best policy for true business competitiveness, is to stop appearing as citizens willing to be constantly humiliated. And that we need a City Council that protects us, and makes us feel worthy of living here, goes without saying.
The solutions to the immigration phenomenon, or directly to the immigration problem, are not easy either: as we said, in basic rights one cannot discriminate. One can indeed claim regional or municipal competence in the control of flows, that is, in the entry quota, and one can also establish public-private collaborations as was already done with the street vendors to avoid mafias or the proliferation of shady businesses: to put it clearly, so many mobile phone cover shops in Nou de la Rambla cannot all be regular. The mayor sees this and everyone sees it. The same applies to compliance with ordinances, everything is regularized if everyone pays a fine and not only motorcyclists who have momentarily invaded the bus lane. Everything else would be trying to contain the far-right hooligans who, in Barcelona or Ripoll, require more flow control than any paqui or any chino. But this is a problem of public order and urbanity.
In short, the death by success of large Western cities not only denaturalizes them in terms of the proliferation of Starbucks and franchises but also in the absence of natives who can remain as neighbors. No one likes to see Venice empty of Venetians; it loses all its charm, and it's not so much the fault of tourism as it is the lack of protection for local people. Free movement and equal rights are undoubtedly a step forward. A privilege. Now, what's missing is for leaving to truly be a right, and not an obligation. No, having to leave your own city is not free movement of people and goods. It is having done things in the worst possible way.