“A thousand premature deaths due to pollution in Barcelona is not being in a hurry”

The construction of public housing has gone up, but access to a flat is not easier. More is invested in social policy, but many people continue to sleep on the streets. Once in politics, is everything more difficult than it seemed before entering it? Governing is complex, and more so when you do it in an administration with fewer resources and powers than the others. The city council manages 13% of public resources, less than the State and the Generalitat, and many people are not aware of this. People tend to ask the council for everything. But we are not resigned. The pride is not only that we build more housing than the Generalitat, which is relinquishing functions, building 30 flats in Barcelona while we build thousands. We are very proud to show that we do more than was done before. Barcelona alone cannot solve the housing problem, but it can put pressure on others to do their job. In the State the housing law is under discussion and we need a regulation of rental prices.

Why in such a hurry to take space from the car with the ‘superilles’ when public transport to come to Barcelona is not complete? A thousand premature deaths due to pollution in Barcelona is not being in a hurry, it is being late. We protect the health of our citizens. Beyond perceptions, the barometers tell us that the majority of the population asks us to reduce the presence of the car. We talk about things as important as the cognitive development of children. And yes, other administrations do not do their homework. The majority of journeys by car, between 55% and 60% of 1.6 million daily, are made by people who do not live in Barcelona. It’s not just Rodalies, it’s the parks and rides that the Generalitat has to do so that people can come by car to a certain point and take public transport.

And an urban toll? It is one of the measures that must be studied. I am in favor of reducing pollution, and that is not achieved with a single measure. We are expanding the public transport budget, we must strengthen metropolitan public transport. And we also have to study a toll, but at a technical table, with the Generalitat, Barcelona could not do it alone.

Barcelona en Comú set out to curb mass tourism, but at Easter it was seen that tourism was once again collapsing parts of the city. How to avoid it? We like to see visitors come back, we have never criminalized tourism, but we have limited capacity to welcome them. And that has to be regulated. The regulation to close illegal flats has been recognized later, first they told us that we would sink the economy. In the airport debate we were clear: it couldn’t be done, we were going from 50 to 70 million passengers, some congressmen, but most of them tourists.

Some say that this figure would not be given. Nobody has taught me studies that support these theses, and I have repeatedly asked for them. I am glad that enlargement was stopped. We must look for quality tourism, linked to culture, congresses, activities that take place throughout the year, and not only in summer and on the beach. This summer there may be discomfort from tourism. We are working to try to limit the groups that visit the center. And then there is the port: we believe that there is a limit, cruise tourism is not sustainable tourism with a great return for the city. The Balearic Islands have proposed limiting cruise ships and I think we have to sit down with the Generalitat to do the same in Barcelona. In May alone, 125 cruise ships have come.

Now projects and events are being promoted along the same lines: the America’s Cup, the Winter Games, their partner wants to bring Eurovision…. The Copa América is a highly consensual proposal that I supported from the start. It is a sporting event that works previously for a long time in the city, in a sustained way. This is good because it gives a return. It is a type of event that has to do with the city. It has to do with the nautical tradition, we are a city of the sea and, therefore, it makes sense. Many teams come, set up and work on issues of innovation, technology, sustainability and generate synergy and complicity with strategic sectors that generate an interesting return for the city. Sporting events have to do with the identity of the city, we like sport and it defines us. In this sense, I always say that there are many events that choose Barcelona, ​​but Barcelona must also choose the events that it wants. because we are a city that has a model. a city that has priorities.

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Y the winter gameswhy now yes? In the Trias period, an artificial snow track was designed for the Winter Games in the Free Trade Zone. This was an unsustainable barbarity that had no future. So this had to stop. On the contrary, for example, congresses such as the Audiovisual one that we have managed to attract to Barcelona in the midst of a pandemic, which has been a success and will be even more so in the coming years. It is a strategic congress. It is a congress that has to do with a strong sector in our country, such as the audiovisual sector, which can generate many synergies, even more than those created by the Mobile World Congress, just like the world capital of architecture that will come in 2026. Barcelona It has a model, it has priorities and it must also know how to choose which events are good. Eurovision would also see it well. What happens is that I hope that the war in Ukraine ends as soon as possible and that it is Ukraine that can host Eurovision.

They accuse them of promoting the decrease of the city. We have not stopped attracting events. There have been those who have wanted to say that we were the no, those of degrowth. This above all is said by some large multinationals. Mr. Sánchez Llibre says it very often. And my answer, recently at the Cercle d’Economy, is that yes and no is a false dichotomy, because we say yes to many things. And the proof is that Barcelona is highly valued in many international rankings. And neither is choosing between growth or decline, but the development model. And for me the great dilemma that we have now, what is going to be decided in the next municipal elections is what Barcelona we want: to prolong the Barcelona of the past, that of mass and uncontrolled tourism in the hands of speculation with gentrification, expelling neighbors with contamination or the Barcelona of the future, a friendly, healthy, green, cohesive, fair Barcelona. I want to lead the Barcelona of the future and that means having criteria, saying no to some things that are not good for the future of Barcelona.