The business community continues to demand an end to the violence of the protests of recent days and is preparing a unitary event for this Thursday at the Estació del Nord to demand a stop to the disturbances that damage Barcelona's image at such a delicate time of crisis as the current one. Under the slogan Ja n'hi ha prou! Centrem-nos en la recuperació (Enough is enough! Let's focus on recovery), the event organized by Foment del Treball expects to gather 400 people and will call for an end to political tension, in addition to defending the need to focus on the resumption of economic activity after the halt due to the pandemic.
In this context, business owners, hoteliers, merchants, and restaurateurs have signed a manifesto that calls for eradicating the vandalistic acts that have occurred for days in the capital and other Catalan cities. "Catalan citizens, and also business owners, are exhausted," begins the manifesto, which advocates for exercising fundamental rights such as assembly and demonstration in a civic and peaceful manner, taking into account that the violent and uncivil behaviors of recent weeks "contribute to sinking, to unprecedented levels, the image of Catalonia and its capital," which seriously harms its ability to attract tourism, talent, and investments.
"We demand, when this is not the case, that the Government of the Generalitat, the Barcelona City Council, and the rest of the city councils of Catalonia exercise their democratic authority and responsibilities without complexes, in order to recover coexistence and peace in our streets. No cause justifies violent attitudes. To maintain social cohesion and jobs, it is essential to end violence, the best ally for destroying employment," the manifesto states, in addition to demanding that all institutions and political parties give "maximum support" to security forces, especially the Mossos d'Esquadra.
The manifesto also urges the formation of a Government in Catalonia, which should be "stable, cohesive, and active, and have as its main objective the economic recovery from the crisis caused by the pandemic." In this regard, it also calls for negotiating a Country Pact for economic and social recovery, in addition to demanding a package of aid for business owners and self-employed workers from the State.
More than 150 business, social, and cultural organizations have joined the manifesto. Among them, the employers' associations Foment del Treball, Pimec, and Cecot stand out, as well as associations such as Femcat, the Cercle d'Economia, the Círculo Ecuestre, the RACC, Comertia, and Barcelona Oberta. After this weekend's disturbances, which involved an escalation of violence with the attack on a Guardia Urbana van, this Monday, the mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau; the deputy mayor for Security, Albert Batlle; the vice president of the Govern, Pere Aragonès, and the Minister of Interior, Miquel Sàmper, met.
The Cercle d'Economia condemns the parties that have legitimized vandalism
Likewise, the Cercle d'Economia issued an opinion note this Monday in which it "forcefully" condemns violence and the political parties that "by action or omission" have legitimized vandalism. "We have noted with stupefaction how high-level officials or some members of the Generalitat Government, either with silence or in some cases even with complicity, have not prioritized the maintenance of public order as a fundamental principle," it laments. The business organization chaired by Javier Faus considers that the looting and the continuous outbreaks of violence are a clear consequence of the immobility that has long predominated in Catalan politics.
The Cercle sees in the results of the 14F elections an opportunity to politically repopulate the center, which it asks neither the Generalitat nor the Government to waste. Taking into account these results, it calls for a "pragmatic, professional government with prestigious ministers, fully operational institutions, consensual parliamentary deliberation, and the adoption of an ambitious shared country project." "Good politics is needed" to face challenges such as the vaccination process, the management of European funds, and the modernization of the public sector and the productive model, emphasizes the organization, which advocates for a change in culture, moving away from radicalisms, both right and left, and overcoming inter-party vetoes. To do so, the Cercle calls for courage and leadership in Barcelona and Madrid.