Drought and floods, presidents old and new, amnesty for some but not all: A look back on 2024

Two elections, a drought emergency and deadly floods, a new Socialist president, a cat-and-mouse chase between police and Puigdemont, protests – from farmers to prison staff, against tourism and the housing crisis – and an amnesty, for some but not all.

Plus, Lamine Yamal setting the football world alight, a stellar year for Catalan-language cinema, and the death, aged 117, of the world's oldest person, Catalan super-granny Maria Branyas.

These are just some of the news stories that Catalan News brought to our readers over the last 12 months. Read on for our look back on 2024 and listen to the podcast below.

Climate crisis 

It doesn't rain but it pours.

2024 was another year marked by extreme weather events in Catalonia, as the climate crisis continues to bite.

With heavy rains in recent weeks, it is easy to forget that Catalonia began 2024 in the midst of a severe record-breaking drought.

After weeks of speculation, on February 1, the Catalan government officially declared a drought emergency in the Ter-Llobregat system, which supplies water to 6 million people. Restrictions – including a ban on filling swimming pools – affected over 200 municipalities, including Barcelona city and metropolitan area.

The then president Pere Aragonès called it Catalonia's "worst drought in a century," adding that "since rainfall records began there has never been such a prolonged drought."

Spring rains allowed the government to downgrade the emergency in May, and, as of December 2024, most Catalan municipalities were in a "state of alert," with reservoirs around one-third full, which is still well below the five-year average. 

October's deadly DANA storm and flooding, which mainly affected Valencia and caused over 220 deaths, also reached Catalonia.

Following continuous heavy rainfall across Catalonia from October 25 to November 8, Meteocat reported that the territory had experienced its two wettest weeks since January 2020, during Storm Glòria. 

There was also extreme heat during 2024 – over 30ºC in April and over 40ºC in late July.

Barcelona recorded temperatures of 29.1ºC in April, an all-time high for the month since at least 1914, while the Fabra Observatory in Barcelona reached a maximum temperature of 40ºC on July 30, the hottest temperature recorded in its 110-year history. 

During the month of July, Catalonia saw 73 heat-related deaths, according to the Carlos III Institute's daily mortality monitoring system.   

Housing protest and 'watergungate'

The ongoing housing crisis was one of the top stories throughout the year.

It culminated in a mass protest in Barcelona in November, which organizers called the "largest demonstration on housing ever held in the history of Catalonia," – 170,000, according to the organizers, while local police put the figure at 22,000.  

A rent cap in 140 towns and cities in Catalonia officially came into force in March. Around 80% of the Catalan population live in the 140 municipalities deemed 'tense housing areas', where the rent cap can apply. Rent prices in Catalonia fell between 3% and 5% in the first two quarters of 2024, coinciding with the implementation of rent caps. 

A much smaller anti-tourism protest in July made international headlines when some protesters sprayed tourists with water pistols. Organizers said the "massive" influx of tourists "exacerbates" social inequality, problems around access to housing, and the environmental crisis.

From May to September this year, Catalonia welcomed over 2 million international tourists every month. 

Barcelona mayor Jaume Collboni announced a proposal in June to remove all 10,101 tourist apartments in the city by November 2028, so they can be used as housing.

Politics: Socialists soar, Puigdemont returns

The Socialist Party came out on top in the Catalan election on May 12, winning 42 out of 135 seats. They were also the big winners in Catalonia in the European elections, winning 30.6% of the vote. 

Pere Aragonès had called a snap Catalan election in March when Parliament rejected his government's 2024 budget. 

His party, pro-independence Esquerra Republicana, eventually struck a deal with the Socialists, including a change to Catalonia's financing model to keep and manage 100% of taxes paid in the territory.

On August 8, an eventful Thursday in Barcelona, Socialist leader Salvador Illa was elected the 133rd Catalan president, with votes from his own party, Esquerra Republicana, and left-wing Comuns Sumar giving him the narrowest of majorities.

Illa's investiture marks a significant turning point for Catalan politics as the Socialist is the first president in favor of Spanish unity since 2010, after a series of pro-independence governments. In his inauguration speech, the Socialist leader promised to "govern as well as he can for every Catalan," adding: "This institution is for all Catalans, it has to serve everyone."

On a normal day, the election of a new president would of course be the number one story, but it was overshadowed by Carles Puigdemont, the former Catalan president in charge during the 2017 referendum, returning to Catalonia from exile after 7 years.

Still wanted by the Spanish authorities, Puigdemont arrived, made a speech to supporters, and, unexpectedly, quickly fled the scene again.

Despite a major police operation, he evaded capture and appeared in Belgium several days later. The Catalan police, the Mossos d'Esquadra, suspended three police officers arrested for helping Puigdemont flee Barcelona. 

Amnesty 

The amnesty law to benefit those involved in the pro-independence movement was published in Spain's Official Gazette (BOE) on June 11, but its application by the courts has not been as widespread as anticipated.

Spain's Supreme Court ruled that the crime of misuse of public funds was not included, meaning that arrest warrants are still in force for former president Carles Puigdemont, along with other exiled pro-independence leaders Toni Comín and Lluis Puig. 

On the other hand, several pro-independence figures – including Esquerra Republicana's Marta Rovira and Ruben Wagensberg – who were residing in Switzerland returned to Catalonia in July, after the Tsunami Democràtic protest group case was dropped. 

Farmers and prison staff protest

The surreal sight of more than 2,000 tractors snaking their way along Barcelona's Diagonal Avenue was just one of the protest actions organized by farmers in February.

Agricultural workers spent weeks protesting, not only in Catalonia but across Spain and Europe, against excessive bureaucracy, drought measures that severely hamper their work, and the fight against what they called "unfair competition from imports" outside the European Union. 

Prison staff also protested in March over safety conditions after a prison cook was killed by an inmate at Mas d'Enric prison. There were 3 initial days of blockades, with over 1,200 prisoners kept in their cells in three Catalan prisons one Saturday as hundreds of prison staff blocked access to the facilities. The director of Mas d'Enric prison was dismissed two weeks later and the government and prison unions eventually agreed to create a working group to tackle security issues.  

Dani Alves: Found guilty but released on bail 

Former FC Barcelona footballer Dani Alves was found guilty of rape by Barcelona Court in February and sentenced to four and a half years in prison.

Alves was convicted of sexually assaulting a 23-year-old woman at the Sutton nightclub in the Catalan capital.

The Brazilian was then released from prison in March after paying €1 million bail.

Although Alves has served only a quarter of his four-and-a-half-year sentence, the court agreed to release him while appeals from both him and the victim (for a tougher sentence) are settled.

Catalan cinema shines

After three Academy Award nominations brought Oscar buzz to Catalonia in March, Catalan cinema has gone on to enjoy a hugely successful 2024, despite J. A. Bayona's 'Society of the Snow' and Catalan-produced 'Robot Dreams' missing out in LA.

Films in Catalan enjoyed their best year at the box office since 2003, attracting more than 700,000 cinemagoers to original Catalan-language versions. 

'The 47' became the most-watched film in Catalan of the last 40 years in cinemas across Spain. It tells the 1978 story of Manolo Vital, who hijacks a bus and drives it to Torre Baró, the Barcelona neighborhood where he lives, in protest at the lack of public transport.

Meanwhile, 'A House on Fire' became the most-watched Catalan film of the decade in Catalan cinemas.  

In the world of food and drink, notable successes included Disfrutar being crowned the world's best restaurant, nine eateries earning their first Michelin star, and Sips being recognized as the best bar in Europe.

Sport: Lamine Yamal makes history

Spain defeated England 2-1 in the Euro 2024 final to claim their fourth title, with Lamine Yamal, the Catalan prodigy born in 2007, one of the tournament's biggest stars.

He scored one of the standout goals of the tournament against France in the semifinals, making history as the youngest player to score in the championship.

Barça Femení won the Champions League for the second year in a row, defeating Lyon 2-0, to add to their league and Copa de la Reina trophies. Their taliswoman Aitana Bonmati once again was rewarded with the Ballon D'or.

The big story in men's club football in Catalonia this year wasn't mighty Barça but little Girona, who qualified for the Champions League for the first time in their history. 

Catalan athletes won seven medals in the Paris Olympic Games this summer, while the 37th America's Cup sailing competition took place in Barcelona and saw Emirates Team New Zealand lifting the trophy for the third consecutive time.

The competition drew protests for its effect on the city's environment and rent prices.

Around 2.5 million spectators attended the regattas over several weeks, according to the city council, who praised the competition for bringing international recognition, reconnecting the city with the Mediterranean, and promoting sustainable business, especially in the maritime sector.

Adéu Maria

And finally, as we bid farewell to 2024, we also say adéu to Maria Branyas.

The world's oldest person died on August 19, aged 117 years.

The Catalan, born in San Francisco on March 4, 1907, had been living in a nursing home in the northern Catalan town of Olot for the last two decades.

Only seven more people have ever lived longer than Branyas, according to records.

Known online as 'Super Àvia Catalana' – Catalan super-granny – Branyas lived through two world wars, the Spanish Civil War, the Spanish flu epidemic and Covid.