Controversy in Sant Cugat: CUP Hosts an Event to Shoot a Vox Councilor

The CUP held a recreational event on Saturday that has sparked controversy in the Barcelona municipality of Sant Cugat. The CUP's youth organization, Arran, organized a gymkhana that included "breaking the police cordon" and "aim at the fascist." Vox denounces a hate crime and calls for the resignation of the security councilor, Bernat Picornell (ERC).

Vox councilor Marcos Rodríguez has denounced on social media a hate crime against himself and his party. In the "aim at the fascist" activity, Arran members threw paint at a Vox logo. They also targeted a controversial tweet in which Marcos Rodríguez commemorated the entry of Francoist troops into Sant Cugat.

The activities were part of "Batallem Sant Cugat," an event that Vox had tried to ban by all means. Arran has boasted of having held the activities without any modifications.

Vox brought the case to the municipal plenary session this Monday, calling for the resignation of the security councilor. However, Picornell was not present because he is on paternity leave. The deputy mayor Cristina Paraira did intervene.

Controversy in the Municipal Plenary Session

According to her statement, the government team authorized the event after meeting with the organizers and on the condition that the most controversial parts would not be held. But the CUP complained about fines for putting up posters and denied any special protection. Their spokesperson and Arran member, Marco Simarro, asked the government not to act as "moral police" at the service of Vox and PP.

Paraira has assured that they are reviewing the protocol for granting permits. "If the way permits are granted needs to be reviewed, I would ask that it be done in the same way for all entities," Simarro demanded.

Vox, meanwhile, received support from PP during their presentation in the municipal plenary session. The popular councilor Álvaro Benejam asked the council to take measures and accused Arran of hiding under the protection of the CUP. He also warned that they might be committing a legal fraud by holding activities under different names.

Political Violence

This controversy is set against the backdrop of tension and political violence currently experienced in Catalonia. In recent weeks, there have been moments of high tension and even assaults by left-wing independence activists against Aliança Catalana and Vox.

These parties are also subject to a cordon sanitaire in the institutions by PSC, Junts, ERC, Comuns, and the CUP. This prevents their normal performance of political activity to which they are entitled as parliamentary representatives and in the town halls. Likewise, public and subsidized media contribute to their ostracism and lynching.