Another tough week in Mataró: the left's stronghold with crime skyrocketing

This has been a difficult week in Mataró. It started with brutal machete fights in the Cerdanyola neighborhood and ended with a person seriously injured by a bladed weapon in Rocafonda. These are not isolated cases. Mataró, a city of 130,000 inhabitants in the province of Barcelona, is now one of the epicenters of growing violence and decay in Catalonia.

The city's decay shows the failure of the well-meaning security policies that have ruled in Catalonia in recent decades. Mataró has been governed for decades by progressive parties (ERC, PSC, Comuns) except for the period from 2011 to 2015, when CiU held the mayor's office. Currently, PSC governs in coalition with Comuns.

In recent years, a process of decay that began long ago has rapidly accelerated. This is especially true in working-class neighborhoods like Cerdanyola and Rocafonda. In these neighborhoods, several factors—loss of purchasing power, migration concentration, squatting—combine to act as a ticking time bomb.  

Crime soaring in Mataró

The most significant figure is the 21% increase in crime over the past five years. The city governed by the left experienced a 5% increase in crimes in 2024, and sexual assaults have doubled in 2025.

Mataró made headlines in April, when the arrest of some squatters triggered riots in the Cerdanyola neighborhood. The protests were encouraged and capitalized on by the far left. PSC replied forcefully and defended the use of force to impose order.

The riots in Cerdanyola highlighted the decay of many neighborhoods in Catalonia. They also showed that squatting triggers serious security problems for local residents. Although the media spotlight has moved on, the problems continue daily.

This week, Cerdanyola residents reported a fight with bladed weapons, shouting, and ambulances. In a post on X, they said they did not know whether they live in Mataró or in a crime movie. On Thursday, El Caso echoed an attack with a bladed weapon that left one person seriously injured in Rocafonda.

Vox stronghold

The failure of left-wing policies has consolidated Mataró as Vox's new stronghold in Catalonia along with Terrassa. The party led by Mónica Lora broke through with four councilors in 2023. Vox multiplied their results compared to 2019, when they narrowly missed entering the city council.

Polls now give Vox significant growth prospects in Mataró. The reason is none other than the exhaustion of residents in these neighborhoods, tired of seeing how decay advances unstoppably.