New demonstration in Barcelona against the Copa América. Around 2,000 people, according to Guàrdia Urbana, and more than 6,000, according to the organizers, marched along the seafront of the Catalan capital to protest against the sailing competition which, they denounce, has worsened the housing problem and tourism in the region. the city.
The Barcelona demonstration against the Copa América coincided with the great march in Madrid for the right to housing. Without having the same objective, the protest in the Catalan capital showed its support to that of the Spanish capital. The Barcelona Tenants Union has announced that it will soon call for a broad mobilization.
Although formally the objective of the protest is different from that of the tenants of Madrid, the impact of the Copa América on the right to housing is one of the most repeated complaints of the organizers and demonstrators of the march. This Sunday’s march in Barcelona was the union of several discomforts that competition has aggravated: effects of tourism on public spaces, housing and coexistence.
For example, in the Barceloneta district, seasonal rentals, inaccessible to most residents, exploded during the celebration of the Copa América. The march passed through this maritime district of Barcelona and coincided with the presence of several participants in the sailing competition. While neighbors ironically described the participants in the march as “balconing”, the tourists applauded.
“I’m demonstrating against the Copa América because I’m from Gòtic and it affects me directly, but if it was because of the rents, I would have come too,” said Pilar, a participant in the march who lives in the center of the Catalan capital. . “They give everything to the traders and nothing to the people of Barcelona,” added the protester, pointing to a large British flag flying in the port and representing one of the participating teams.
Eduardo, Bea, Sergi and Patricia are a group of friends who attended the Barcelona protest against the Copa América, thinking it was a replica of the Madrid tenants’ protest, as it turned out produced with some participants in the Copa América march in the Catalan capital.
Eduardo and Bea moved to Barcelona this summer from Madrid and Granada. Having excluded the capital due to high prices, they found a rental in Cornellà for 900 euros for an apartment of 30 square meters. “In Barcelona, everything was seasonal rental, they even asked you for money to go see the apartment,” laments Eduardo.
Sergi and Patricia can live in Barcelona, but they are starting to suffer from what will happen when their rental contract expires despite the price cap. “All rents are very expensive and salaries are not increasing,” confirmed Sergi. The organizers have announced new mobilizations if the parties decide to renew the competition in 2026 in Barcelona.
