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New Barcelona mayor plans to change tourism
Tourism is out of control," says Colau
Yesterday’s Spanish elections saw an anti-poverty activist elected as mayor of Barcelona and the ruling People’s party battered at the ballot box.
Ada Colau, the 41-year-old anti-eviction activist who leads Barcelona En Comú, was elected mayor of the Catalan city. "It’s a victory for David over Goliath," said Colau as news broke of the historical win.
A grassroots movement of several leftist political parties, including Podemos, and thousands of citizens, Barcelona En Comú vowed to return decision-making in the city to the people, promising to do away with home evictions, increase public housing and redistribute the city’s wealth. Colau’s party won 11 of the 41 seatson the city council, meaning that she will need to form alliances in order to govern.
Tourism will be high on the agenda of the new mayor, with an effort to design a more sustainable model for the city. "Tourism is out of control," said Colau, pointing to areas such as the historical centre that have become saturated with hotels and tourist apartments.
Rents have rocketed as a result and neighbourhoods and small businesses have been pushed out of the area. "Everyone wants to see the real city, but if the centre fills up with multinationals and big stores that you can find in any other city, it doesn’t work," she said
As one of the founders of the Mortgage Victims’ Platform, Ada Colau has spent the past six years battling the most visible scars of Spain’s economic crisis, from growing inequality to home evictions.
The group’s members have prepared a to-do list for its first months in power – what Colau calls "commonsense measures" – ranging from limiting her monthly salary to €2,200 (£1,600), to eliminating official cars and expense budgets for attending meetings.
The details of any meetings involving city officials would be posted online, they say.
Valere Tjolle
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