Over 80 groups denounce Catalan capital's 'despair, greyness, and stagnation'

Over 80 Barcelona-based civil society organizations have signed a manifesto in which they complain of the Catalan capital's "despair, greyness, and stagnation" – particularly pronounced, they say, as a result of the pandemic.

Catalonia's Young Entrepreneurs' Association (AIJEC), the Barcelona Campsite Association, Born Commerce, the Barceloneta Neighborhood Association, or the Catalan Union of Sports Federations are amongst the movement's many business, neighborhood, and sports entities.

Criticizing the city's lack of "positive leadership," they have organized a protest which will take place on October 21 at 7 pm outside the city council's Plaça Sant Jaume headquarters.

The movement, which has called itself 'Barcelona és imparable' (or Barcelona is Unstoppable, in English) and has not been endorsed by any political parties, argues that, "for years, the city has missed out on opportunities that could place it at the epicenter of strategic sectors in the international arena."

Without explicitly mentioning mayor Ada Colau, of anti-austerity En Comú Podem, or her policies, the manifesto blasts what it describes as the city's 'no' culture that has held it back from "social and economic progress as well as sustainability."

Colau and her party positioned themselves against the contentious Barcelona airport expansion plans which would have damaged a nearby nature reserve – put on hold for now – as well as against opening a new Hermitage museum on the seafront, which the council rejected.

Barcelona is Unstoppable has created a Twitter account, @bcnesimparable, to highlight what it regards as the city's issues in terms of "cleanliness, insecurity, and mobility."

The council recently decided to create a so-called public space quality coordinator that is set to oversee street cleaners and ensure they are complying with their contracts.

The city hall also agreed to draft a plan that will "revert the city's decline, as well as lack of maintenance and cleaning of streets, squares, and parks while identifying each neighborhood's most vulnerable areas and strengthening and rearranging cleaning and waste collection services."