Images of Neighbors Evicting Two Squatters in Badalona Go Viral

Catalonia has long been leading squatting across Spain, and it is one of the main factors behind the rise in insecurity. It is driven by legislation that protects squatters more than property owners. Meanwhile, years of permissiveness and even whitewashing by the parties that have governed in Catalonia have also contributed.

Faced with the lack of protection, citizens are organizing to defend themselves against insecurity and squatting. Yesterday, images of a group of neighbors evicting two criminals who wanted to break into an apartment in the Sant Crist neighborhood in Badalona went viral.

The images were captured by one of the neighbors who confronted the criminals. They are two foreigners who, covered with hoods and equipped with backpacks, attempted to break into the residence.

The woman confronted them and shouted for help while warning the squatters that they couldn't be there. One of them even assaulted her, then tried to kick down the door with great aggression. Another neighbor appeared with a stick to deter the criminals.

They eventually gave up and left, threatening the neighbors and saying they would return to try to enter again. One of the squatters asked for "respect" from the neighbors and argued that he has nowhere to sleep or anything to eat. A neighbor showed understanding toward him but told him he couldn't enter someone else's private property.

Indignation of Many People

The digital outlet Tot Badalona published the news on the platform X, generating many messages from outraged people. "The neighbors are doing the job that justice should do," says one of the messages. Meanwhile, another states that "they already come with the lesson learned, if you don't have a house you can break into any other with total impunity."

A Catalan reflects that "allowing squatting is one of the reasons that the far right rises." And that "then the left will wonder how it could have happened."

The Sindicat d'Habitatge de Catalunya argues that "the problem is not squatting but private property (too many empty apartments)." They also advocate for a "class sanitary cordon" against the "rise of reactionary squads" and the "empty promises of social democracy."

However, more people applaud the neighbors who have evicted the squatters and call for urgent solutions to this problem.