Immigration and insecurity, rising concerns in Catalonia that media keep silent

The CEO's sociopolitical data always bring interesting dynamics that reflect the changes taking place in Catalonia. In one of its latest editions, it can be seen that immigration and insecurity are clearly part of the citizens' problems. However, the situation has more facets than it seems.

At this moment, the two main problems for citizens are housing (21%) and dissatisfaction with politics (21%). After that come immigration (9%) and insecurity (9%). Now, these data are more revealing if analyzed with perspective.

In just three years, both immigration and insecurity have climbed many positions. In March 2022, immigration was in tenth place among the problems; now, however, it has climbed seven positions to third. Meanwhile—and in the same period—insecurity has climbed five positions, from ninth to fourth.

Broken down by age, it is worth noting that those who give the most weight to these two problems are young people in two age groups (18/24 and 25/34). In the first group, immigration is nothing less than the second problem at 11%. Meanwhile, in the second group, the second problem is insecurity, with a weight of 10%.

Another interesting fact about the sociopolitical climate is that a very significant part of the citizenry considers PSC to be the most suitable party to solve problems of this nature. Ignoring the fact that the most suitable party is always "none" in all responses, PSC is the second favorite with 19% to keep security and order. In fact, PSC scores the highest in all the problems.

Housing: a separate mention

As we said, housing is by far the main problem for Catalans. It is normal for this to be the case. The Catalan real estate market, especially rentals, is practically devastated. The origin of the problem lies in a pent-up excess demand that the supply can't, and will not be able to, satisfy.

This is relevant because, as numerous data indicate, such as those from Banco de España, the real estate problem is closely related to immigration. The reason is as simple as the fact that immigration drives up demand in a context of population concentration. With positive migration balances of hundreds of thousands of people per year, it is materially impossible to meet all that demand.

This way, between insecurity and housing, the objective weight of immigration in Catalonia becomes blurred. Even more so considering that it is a taboo subject in every respect among the mainstream press.