Political tension has skyrocketed in Parliament after the presence of two plainclothes agents was confirmed at a teaching assembly held this Wednesday in Barcelona. Four parliamentary groups demand urgent explanations from the Government regarding the alleged police infiltration at the Institut Pau Claris.
The CGT union publicly denounced the fact, which has provoked an immediate reaction from ERC, Junts per Catalunya, En Comú Podem, and the Candidatura d'Unitat Popular. These parties have demanded that the executive clarify whether the Department of the Interior sent police officers to meetings of the educational community.
Parties request the appearance of Parlon and Trapero
The institutional response has not been long in coming. The critical groups have registered formal requests for the Minister of the Interior, Núria Parlon, the Minister of Education, Esther Niubó, and the Director General of the Mossos, Josep Lluís Trapero, to appear before the chamber. The petition seeks to determine the scope of this practice and its legal implications.
The Department of the Interior and Public Security has expressed its willingness to be accountable to the formations that require it. The Catalan police issued a statement this Thursday in which it assures that the Mossos d'Esquadra carry out their functions always attending to current legislation and in accordance with their established competencies.
"It works and will work to guarantee the free right of assembly and demonstration" - Mossos d'Esquadra, Official statement
This statement contrasts with the indignation expressed by the educational sector. The presence of plainclothes officers in a union deliberation space has been interpreted as an unacceptable intrusion by the workers' representatives.
Unions demand end to police pilot program
The mobilization transcends the parliamentary sphere. The unions Ustec·Stes, Professors de Secundària, CGT Ensenyament and Intersindical have issued a strong joint statement. They ask the Government to clarify whether this surveillance has been carried out since the beginning of the teacher mobilizations or if it is an isolated incident.
The union organizations do not only seek clarifications. They demand the immediate withdrawal of the pilot plan that deploys Mossos in schools and the cessation of all police interference in educational centers and on teaching staff. The trust between the administration and the teaching staff is seriously damaged after these events.
The situation generates an intense debate about the limits of public security in civilian spaces. Pressure on the Catalan executive increases while the convening of the appearances requested by the political opposition is awaited.