04.10.2017 - 14:28
Catalonia woke up in a different way, today. All cities and towns in the country shut down and people took to the streets in protest against Spain’s police violence during the independence referendum. The strike was labelled as a “stoppage” of a country and was backed by the Catalan government, observed by public administrations and small and medium-sized business alike.
Even Football Club Barcelona went on strike. None of the professional teams nor the youth teams will train today day, and the Tour Camp Nou Experience and the Museum remained closed as well.
Minimum services in public transport and public services
According to the Catalan government, more than 70% of public workers joined the strike. Public transport operated below capacity and public services such as hospitals offered minimum services.
According to the Catalan Minister for Labor, Dolors Bassa, more than a million workers went on strike. “I want to thank all the citizens of Catalonia; we are a mature and conscious society. The civic and peaceful nature of the demonstrations has shown,” Bassa said. In the early morning, people also blocked up to sixty highways.
Big demonstrations around Catalonia
From morning, people did not stay at home and thousands gathered in most Catalan cities to condemn the police intervention on Sunday, which left 893 injured. The most important demonstration took place in Barcelona, which gathered hundreds of thousands of people in one of the main squares of the city. In Girona and Tarragona, tens of thousands also demonstrated to protest against violent police charges.
During the day, the Catalan government told citizens to demonstrate peacefully against police violence. “Once again, we call citizens to peacefully demonstrate the civic coexistence we have in this country,” said the Catalan Minister for Labor.
Energy consumption decreases
A sign of the strike’s success in Catalonia was the energy consumption data. During the day, Spain’senergy consumption was significantly lower than forecast.
