VIDEO | The drama of La Boqueria merchants with pickpockets

Vox has focused on the street. We have observed this for many months, and the goal is none other than to build loyalty among voters and the base outside of the official discourse. This explains why the party achieves great success among young people and declining popular areas.

The latest example was seen at the Boqueria Market, where the party leader, Ignacio Garriga, went to learn about the concerns of the merchants. Many of their anxieties are linked to the increase in insecurity and petty thieves. In particular, pickpockets who harass defenseless tourists in a high-traffic place like the market.

"If you stay for half an hour, you will see four or five[pickpockets]," a deli owner explains to Garriga. It is the merchant himself who explains what, on the other hand, all citizens know: that these pickpockets are always the same. "They come in, go out, and four or five hours later, they come back again," he explains:

Repeat offenses

Repeat criminal offenses are a priority issue in terms of security. Although Congress has advanced in legal reforms, the street situation remains the same. This leads to implausible scenes, with criminals literally accumulating hundreds of offenses.

For the moment, the parties that best capture this public outcry are those of identity-based right. This also explains why parties like Vox or Aliança Catalana have materialized in municipal politics. However, it is not only Vox or Aliança Catalana: in parties like Junts or PP, changes are also observed, even if only in some isolated cases, like the Junts mayors of Calella or Maresme.

Among the municipalities and cities, the situation in Barcelona stands out, as it is the most insecure city in all of Spain. Similarly, the official data revealed by Vox confirm that this crime is completely related to foreigners. According to data from mossos and urban guard, almost 80% of those arrested in the city are foreigners.

If the data is broken down, we find that foreigners commit 91% of thefts in the city, and 83% of robberies with violence. Likewise, foreigners are the majority in crimes such as sexual assault (73%) or attempts to squat in homes (87%).