Mossos Blame ERC and Elena for What's Happening in Catalonia

The Department of Interior was the most dramatic culmination of the disastrous government of ERC and Pere Aragonès (2021-2024). The councilor Joan Ignasi Elena led the department during the greatest rise in crime while denying it by talking about perceptions. But he also turned the Mossos d'Esquadra against him, not only because of his internal manipulations but also for leaving them defenseless.

Never before have the agents been so forceful against the former councilor Elena. The spokesperson for SAP-FEPOL, the majority union of Mossos d'Esquadra, has given an interview to the digital Vilaweb. Imma Viudes openly blames ERC and Joan Ignasi Elena for the degradation of security in Catalonia.

Fierce Criticism of ERC and Joan Ignasi Elena

Viudes doesn't hesitate to label the previous stage as the "worst department in history in many ways." She considers that Elena applied a "scorched earth policy" that "attacked the defense of the force."

The union spokesperson refers to the controversial decision of the former councilor to "withdraw the legal defense of the agents when they were attacked by activists of a certain ideology." A decision that "was applied thanks to a government agreement with the CUP to invest Pere Aragonès as President." This caused "distrust" within the force, and many agents felt "abandoned."

The spokesperson also criticizes Junts and Carles Puigdemont for the reputational damage of his last escape on August 8, 2024. "It was a black day, the institution did not deserve the image we gave," she states, also pointing to the leadership of the force.

The agents are now hopeful for the new stage that the PSC has opened in the Department of Interior. But they also receive it with great caution. "We have noticed many changes, but now we have to see how they are executed," she stated.

Alone in the Face of Danger

The union spokesperson also referred to mental health problems in the force, with a shocking statistic. In one week, two agents have committed suicide, one of them only 28 years old. According to studies, 35% of the agents suffer from depressive episodes.

There are many factors behind this, and one is clearly the fact of having to deal daily with the worst side of society. The increase in crime in Catalonia has logically led to an increase in stress among the agents. Especially because many times they are alone in the face of danger, abandoned by the system itself.

A clear case is that of repeat offenders, as the police do their job but the criminals end up on the street protected by a guarantor system. A system that protects the criminal instead of the citizen. And that also often leaves the agents as the villains.

Recently, a CUP deputy encouraged riots in Salt by stating that throwing stones at the police is part of the popular culture in Catalonia. It is an example of how for years the authority of the police in Catalonia has been eroded.

This criticism from the union is the fiercest so far toward ERC and the CUP, whom they blame for the current situation in Catalonia. That is, the unleashed insecurity and the lack of police authority, which are interconnected.