The eviction of the Àgora Juan Andrés Benítez space, scheduled for Thursday, May 14 in Raval, has been temporarily suspended until September after the intervention of the Ajuntament de Barcelona and the neighborhood mobilization. Sareb, owner of the plot on Aurora street next to Riereta, has confirmed a 60-day postponement that, in practice, places any action after the summer.
The extension arrives on a plot of land with urban planning for housing, but which the neighborhood has been using since 2014 as an open and self-managed space in a neighborhood with a scarcity of public space and green areas. Therein lies the tension that has dominated the last few hours in Ciutat Vella, between the urban planning destiny of the plot and the social function it already fulfills in the Raval.
The City Council asked to assess the social impact of the eviction in El Raval
The council conveyed to Sareb the need to measure the impact that the closure of the Àgora would have on the neighborhood before carrying out the eviction. The Ciutat Vella district also maintains that the debate on the future of the plot must incorporate the community use consolidated for more than a decade.
The dialogue period has already begun. Tuesday began with a meeting between the City Council and the managers of the owning entity to address the future of the space.
The suspension has a formal duration of 60 days, although the calendar actually extends it until September, which is the maximum limit allowed by law for this type of postponements.
The lot has operated since 2014 as a green point and self-managed space
On l'Aurora street, very close to Riereta, the Àgora Juan Andrés Benítez has operated since 2014 as an open and self-managed space. The neighborhood and various entities defend it as one of the few green and community spots left in El Raval.
After the postponement became known, the groups have announced that they will maintain the mobilization to defend the continuity of the space. For Tuesday afternoon, they have called a festive gathering with which they want to celebrate the suspension and keep the claim visible.
Iñaki García, one of the promoters of the Àgora, valued the change of scenery after the last days of neighborhood pressure.
"We have to celebrate it because 10 days ago we were in the street and now we can continue providing service to the neighborhood" - Iñaki García, promoter of the Àgora Juan Andrés Benítez
The project is named after Juan Andrés Benítez, a neighborhood resident who died in 2013 following a police intervention. The space was then born as an act of remembrance and denunciation and over time has maintained that link with the recent history of El Raval.