Dozens of town councils ignore national holiday as protest

Dozens of Catalan town councils decided yesterday, as in previous years, to ignore the national holiday celebrating Spanish speaking countries by opening as usual and attending the citizens. President Quim Torra announced on Twitter that he would be working, as well as the rest of the members of the government, in a day in which also some shops, which had closed on October 1, also decided to open.

The mayor of Verges, Ignasi Sabater (CUP), explained his reasons for staying open: “We have done it out of dignity and consistency... taking into account the state of emergency we live with, with political prisoners and exiles.” Sabater also explained that the holiday also celebrated genocide carried out by Spanish imperialism centuries ago which could not be pardoned.

As in many municipalities, the council gave the workers the option of changing the day for another but there was no obligation to do so. Some council desks were manned by councillors only.

Many other councils in the Empordà, including Torroella de Montgrí, Castelló d’Empúries, Viladamat, and Celrà, Gironès, worked at least half a day. In Girona, the mayoress Marta Madrenas and her team kept to their normal agenda, as did the mayor and councillors in Sant Vicenç dels Horts.