The mayor of Badalona and head of the list for Barcelona to the Congress of Deputies in the elections on November 29, Xavier García Albiol, today defended a legal reform to toughen penalties against squatters and proposed that, in case of recidivism, Spaniards be imprisoned and foreigners be expelled from Spain.
In statements on La Mirada Crítica, the leader of the Popular Party (PP) explained the steps he plans to follow after the assignment given to him by the party president, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, to try to end the problem of housing occupation in Spain.
A legislative reform to curb occupation
Xavier García Albiol has assured that it is a “very serious” problem, especially in Catalonia, where, he pointed out, 40 percent of housing occupations are concentrated. For this reason, he has asked for votes to be “gathered” in the PP so that, when parliamentary activity begins, he can bring together experts and affected people and present a proposal that will involve modifying different laws.
“The Spanish recidivist, to prison, and the foreigner, immediately expelled from Spain,” summarized the mayor of Badalona in defending his proposal, which links to a toughening of penalties against crime and against those who, in his opinion, “make life impossible for neighbors.”
Protection for vulnerable people
The popular candidate wanted to clarify, however, that he does not include in that diagnosis vulnerable people who cannot pay their mortgage or rent. In those cases, he pointed out, “they must have the support of social services.”
Against this, he has maintained that “the vast majority of occupations are by people who live off occupation or are part of mafias dedicated to creating problems of incivility and crime.” Albiol said that he experiences this reality daily as mayor and explained that, when incidents occur, he is informed that many of those involved accumulate “30 and even 40 records.”
Criticism of Junts and the anti-occupation law
Xavier García Albiol also responded to the spokesperson for Junts, Miriam Nogueras, who recalled that her party presented an anti-occupation law three years ago. In the opinion of the mayor of Badalona, it is “ironic” that the PSOE and its partners have kept the initiative blocked for three years, while Junts has been “supporting the Government.”
“What would it have cost Junts to say that in exchange for staying one more week in the Government, they would unblock the anti-occupation law,” Albiol said, before insisting that in Badalona they have managed to reduce the number of occupations and that more than 50 percent of attempts “are aborted.”
In the opinion of the popular leader, in Catalonia there are many people who think like the PP on this issue, even “70 percent,” because, he has defended, it is not a debate of left or right, but of protection for owners and neighbors.
“It cannot be that someone gets into an apartment and has more protection than the owner, who dedicates himself to making life impossible for the neighbors and that they cannot do anything,” he concluded.