Lluc Salellas is the only pro-independence mayor of the four Catalan capitals. The party he led, Guanyem, a municipalist confluence formed by parties such as the CUP – of which he is a member – and MES, and people linked to the neighborhood world and activism, will govern with Junts and ERC.
During the campaign, he promised a lot of change, but he ended up making an agreement with those who were already in government. Where is the change?
The change is shown in the leadership, who was previously the head of the opposition is now the mayor. We presented a program that demonstrates a change in public policies and from day one we wanted to show that the government will always be on the streets.
But how do two ideologies as disparate as that of Win and Together marry?
It is true that they are different, but the work of three weeks of silent negotiations to bring positions closer is noticeable. We prioritize the will to understand.
Has he not prioritized the national axis more than the social one?
No. The pact was built on the basis of 64 city projects and the willingness of its actors to understand each other. The national and language issue plays a role in absolutely all the governments that are formed in the Catalan Countries and in the Spanish State, and anyone who pretends not to take this element into account is not being faithful to reality; but in this case it is a city project.
Considering the program, wouldn’t it have been more natural to agree with the PSC?
Guanyem believed that she was perfectly legitimate to lead a government with a tie at eight councilors with the PSC.
Did he want the mayor’s office?
Obviously, the mayor’s office counted because, for us, demonstrating a change meant this. Putting on the table that there would not be a mayor of the PSC or Junts tradition was an element that linked with a generational and city change. We think that on some issues the program agreement we have reached has gone further than we could have reached with the PSC.
For example?
On the subject of the limitation of tourist flats.
But the message is contradictory. They propose 4% of tourist apartments in the city, but the 15% that are already in the Old Quarter will continue.
State law allows such a license to be for life. The Old Quarter will not be able to have a single tourist flat anymore.
A sector on the rise is bicycle tourism, which causes complaints from residents of the Old Quarter. Do we need to put a stop to this tourism?
The Old Quarter needs to be economically diversified. Look for projects that help not only tourism and those linked to the bike to keep the space. This, in the end, would impoverish the neighborhood and make it a monoculture. We want to work on concrete proposals.
In which ones?
There are proposals in the field of technology, trade or small industry linked to clothing, furniture… that allow areas of the neighborhood to be preserved so that there is another economic activity.
Will you bet on tourism?
There will continue to be tourism, but the main challenge as a government is how we do it so that other sectors can grow. Sectors such as industry in the urban area and that linked to health with the Trueta biomedical park; you have to think about the social economy and trade that doesn’t just live off tourism.
Will Girona continue to be a city of festivals or has a limit been reached?
There will be festivals in Girona and at the end of the year it will be necessary to define which ones are strategic.
Will Temporada Alta continue?
It is a great asset and we want it to continue, but as with all festivals it is necessary to clarify well what is the social and cultural return to the city.
What will happen to Temps de Flors?
There is a will to rethink it and work on proposals for change in 2024. It is necessary to get it to live beyond such a specific and narrow center.
In the list of proposals, they point out that it is necessary to act against criminal occupations.
We are not talking about occupations, but about criminal uses of housing. There are occupations that are lived calmly and quietly and that do not cause any problems because there are no criminal uses. The key is if there is traffic, if there are criminal elements inside. For me, the serious problem is when there is crime in a home and it is in these cases where the focus must be placed.
Does Girona need a Catalan language council?
In Girona, as in the whole country, the social use of Catalan is on the decline. The public administrations have the obligation to look for solutions and more at a time when the most reactionary attitudes have expressed the will to exterminate the language.
