The Collserola Tower, 30 years overlooking Barcelona

For 30 years, the Collserola Tower has better connected Barcelona, as well as changed its skyline, becoming one of its most characteristic elements and the tallest structure in all of Catalonia, at 288 meters. Its construction was a milestone for the Catalan capital, engrossed in a major overhaul to host the '92 Olympic Games.Such was the importance of this infrastructure for the Olympic project that the then mayor, Pasqual Maragall, used to visit the works frequently, to make sure everything was going as it should. "He came incognito," adds Ramón Pedrerol, the project's technical director. It's not the only anecdote Pedrerol remembers. Some won't know and many will have forgotten, butthe body of the tower, made up of thirteen floors, was built on the ground and raised using a complex system to occupy its current position, at more than 100 meters high. Obviously, the process was followed with considerable interest. As Pedrerol explains, the construction company, aware of the emblem it represented, chose to raise the structure slowly, extending a process that could have been done in a single day over seven, ensuring that each day and its progress were broadcast on television and followed with attention by all Barcelonans. It became a matter of state. So much passion was aroused by the new infrastructure that the construction companydecided to turn it into a huge Christmas tree the year before the Olympics. He adorned it with lights and garlands, which could be seen from any point in the city, Pedrerol remarks. The project was finally inaugurated on June 27, 1992, a month before the opening of the Olympic Games, which this Monday celebrate the 30th anniversary of their start.Norman Foster was in charge of designing the tower. The British architect won an international competition against proposals made by the Barcelona architect couple Carles Buixadé and Joan Margarit, the latter better known for his poetic career; that of also local Ricardo Bofill, and that of Valencian Santiago Calatrava. The models of the projects made by Foster, Bofill, and Buixadé and Margarit are preserved, but Calatrava's has been lost. Although Foster won, his idea mutated. One element that changed was the cables that support the Collserola Tower. The British architect had planned three, but the fear that an ETA bomb would destroy one and the structure would collapse led to the number being doubled, Pedrerol points out. The construction process also changed. Originally, it had been planned to build the body of the tower from above, but it ended up being decided to do it from below and then raise it. The initially planned budget also changed, Pedrerol adds as a final detail. Initially, the construction was estimated at 1,200 million pesetas ---about 7.2 million euros---. Later, it was realized that it could not be so cheap, a matter that slowed down the development of the infrastructure for months, in the midst of the process of choosing the company that had to be in charge of building it. The cheapest option was finally chosen and the bill rose to 4,500 million pesetas ---about 27 million euros---. It remains a benchmark for telecommunicationsThe Collserola Tower Society is the company in charge of operating the tower. Established in 1987, it also undertook its construction at the time. The company is currently owned by Cellnex; the Government, through the Centre de Telecomunicacions i Tecnologies de la Informació de la Generalitat (CTTI); Telefónica and the AMB. Telefónica, one of the founding partners of the infrastructure 30 years ago, maintains one of its most important fiber optic and radio centers there, points out Chema Casas, general director of Telefónica in Catalonia. The Collserola Tower has remained a benchmark in the transmission of radio and television signals, and of voice and data, and continues to cover a wide network of radio links and connectivity services. Specifically, it manages the audiovisual coverage of Catalonia and controls that of the rest of Spain, as well as serving to supervise public services such as the Generalitat and City Council's emergency and security communications network. The complex also includes a data processing center.

Telefónica, one of the founding partners of the infrastructure 30 years ago, maintains one of its most important fiber optic and radio centers there

For Cellnex, the infrastructure is "km 0 of the company's transport network" in Catalonia and a neuralgic control center for the entire country, indicates the general director in Spain, Albert Cuatrecasas. Thus, it serves more than five million people who have access to DTT, a figure that rises to six million with radio broadcasting.

"It is a symbol of Barcelona's positioning as a leading technological city worldwide," Casas continues.The general director of Telefónica in Catalonia adds that the collaboration between companies and administrations that allowed its construction, accompanied by other investments in telecommunications, has been one of the basic elements that have allowed recent successes such as the designation of Barcelona aspermanent headquarters of the Mobile World Congress

El presidente de la República, Gabriel Boric, se refirió este lunes a la conmemoración de los 50 años del golpe de Estado, que se cumple el próximo 11 de septiembre, y a la polémica que se ha generado en torno a la fecha.

En ese contexto, el Mandatario hizo un llamado a “no empatar las responsabilidades” entre quienes “quebrantaron la democracia” y quienes “la defendieron”.

“No es aceptable, no es aceptable, que se relativice o se justifique el golpe de Estado. No es aceptable que se relativice o se justifique la violación a los derechos humanos”, dijo Boric en un punto de prensa en el Palacio de La Moneda.

El jefe de Estado enfatizó que “no hay dos bandos, no hay dos bandos, no hay dos bandos. Hay quienes defendieron la democracia y quienes la quebrantaron”.

“Y eso es algo que tenemos que tener muy claro, muy claro, muy claro. Y no podemos empatar las responsabilidades”, añadió.

Boric también se refirió a la propuesta de la oposición de firmar una declaración conjunta en la que se condene el golpe de Estado y se defienda la democracia.

“Nosotros estamos disponibles a firmar una declaración conjunta, pero no a cualquier precio. No a cualquier precio”, sostuvo.

El Presidente explicó que “no vamos a firmar una declaración que relativice o justifique el golpe de Estado. No vamos a firmar una declaración que relativice o justifique la violación a los derechos humanos”.

“Nosotros estamos por la verdad, la justicia, la reparación y las garantías de no repetición. Y eso es algo que no vamos a transar”, sentenció.

Las declaraciones de Boric se dan en medio de la polémica que se ha generado en torno a la conmemoración de los 50 años del golpe de Estado, que ha generado un fuerte debate entre el oficialismo y la oposición.

La derecha ha criticado al Gobierno por lo que considera una “instrumentalización” de la fecha, mientras que el oficialismo ha acusado a la oposición de “negacionismo” y de “justificar” el golpe de Estado.

En este escenario, el Presidente Boric ha buscado marcar una postura clara y firme en defensa de la democracia y los derechos humanos, en un intento por cerrar las filas de su sector y evitar que la polémica escale aún más.