Cup falls into its own trap and reacts against a squat in Girona

CUP has championed the narrative that squatting doesn't exist and is an invention to sow hatred or sell more alarm systems. However, where they govern and have to manage day-to-day affairs, reality eventually prevails. This has happened in Girona, a city governed by a coalition led by the cupaires.

The housing union controlled by a radical offshoot of CUP has attacked Girona's city council. They directly point to CUP for voting alongside Vox to "evict Nouama and her daughters". 

The governing team has replied with a forceful message, where they defend their housing policy and accuse the affected family of "taking advantage of the system".

This isn't the first time radicals have attacked CUP. This conflict highlights the growing tension between CUP's institutional sector and its more radical base. It also reveals the contradictions between the woke left's narrative and their daily reality on issues such as security and squatting. 

Social rent fraud

In a denunciation video, the Sindicat de l’Habitatge de Girona claims that "once again all politicians agree on taking a hard line against the working class". They accuse CUP, ERC, and Junts of "selling smoke" and "kicking out families as if they were a vulture fund". 

The response has come from Girona's councilor for Equality and Justice, Amy Sabaly. According to her, this is a "case of fraudulent social rent", and she has offered her version "to avoid falling into populist discourse".

According to the city council, eleven years ago a social housing unit was assigned to a person who met the established requirements. Thanks to this, the person was able to enjoy the use of the housing with an affordable rent adapted to their income. 

However, according to the councilor, seven years ago this person "stopped paying" and since then has accumulated a debt of €18,000 with the city council. "Moreover, we are aware that this person hasn't lived in the apartment for some time. They have allowed the registration of different people, and based on the information we have, have caused conflicts with the rest of the neighbors."

According to the councilor, this is a "blatant" case of "fraud" in social rent. She argued that from the CUP-governed city council "we work to guarantee the right to housing". But that "we will act decisively when someone takes advantage of the system".

The union accuses them of lying

The union has replied to the councilor by accusing the city council of "carrying out an eviction with an irregular process" and of relying on "fallacies". They claim that the city council hasn't guaranteed the right to defense for the evicted family. 

They also accuse the councilor of lying when she says that the person doesn't live in the apartment or that they commit fraud in the registry. According to their version, "Nouama had temporarily taken in people in situations of extreme vulnerability".

According to them, this is an attempt to "criminalize" in order to prevent union action. For this reason, they take a jab at CUP: "Governing capitalist institutions means submitting to them, defending at any cost the real estate business and private property".