ERC has placed urban decay, housing, and the economic model at the center of its proposal for Terrassa for the municipal elections. The Republican candidate, Ona Martínez, has accused the local government of limiting itself to managing day-to-day affairs and has proposed halting projects such as the parking lot at the Sant Roc portal to redirect investment to other priorities.
The paradox highlighted by the party is that Terrassa has deficits in income, youth employment, and urban maintenance while debating major city projects. Martínez maintains that the municipality is below the Catalan average and also below Sabadell in GDP per capita, with families earning less and a youth unemployment rate of 14%.
ERC links the 10 potholes in three years to a lack of ordinary investment
Martínez has stated that the city is suffering from sustained disinvestment in basic issues such as asphalt. On this point, she has assured that Terrassa has accumulated 10 potholes in just three years and has called for the ordinary budget to guarantee street safety.
"The historical disinvestment is literally eating away at our streets" - Ona Martínez, ERC candidate
The candidate frames this criticism within a broader reading of the local economic situation. Using data from the INE and Idescat, ERC points out that families in Terrassa earn 1,800 euros less annually than those in Sabadell and 1,700 euros less than the Catalan average.
To this gap, she adds the 14% youth unemployment rate, which the party uses to question the city's economic direction. Martínez argues that the solution is not to reinforce a dormitory town profile or to depend on logistics activities linked to Barcelona.
Martínez rejects being Barcelona's logistics warehouse and calls for a review of the 2003 POUM
The candidate proposes reviewing land uses to protect urban industry and move the more polluting industries to the outskirts. Her approach involves prioritizing clean industry and reviewing a plan that, in ERC's opinion, no longer meets Terrassa's current needs.
"In Terrassa, we don't want to be Barcelona's logistics warehouse, we want clean industry" - Ona Martínez, ERC candidate
Within this review, ERC considers it urgent to update the 2003 POUM to densify spaces and gain green areas. The objective, according to their plan, is to avoid dispersed growth that complicates the arrival of facilities such as schools or primary care centers.
The formation also calls for an orbital train to reduce dependence on Barcelona in terms of population and opportunities. In parallel, it places public housing as one of the central pieces to contain prices, although it recalls that it is not enough to cede land to the Generalitat de Catalunya if the City Council does not assume investment in purchase and construction.
ERC wants to stop the Sant Roc car park and will set two red lines for an agreement
If it wins the elections, ERC announces that it will stop the Sant Roc portal car park project, which it defines as a "tomb of smoke". Martínez proposes allocating the 13 million planned for the sports area or for an elevated car park at the bus station.
The candidate also relates security to access to opportunities and to local economic activity. Her thesis is that a city with open shops and illuminated streets offers better conditions than a residential municipality without urban life in the evening.
In the post-election arena, ERC sets two limits for any governability agreement. The first is not to agree with the far-right and the second is not to grant blank checks, although it leaves the door open for an understanding with the PSC if that agreement serves, in the words of the formation, to move the city forward.
Martínez has also claimed the legacy of 2019 and recalled that at that time the pedestrian island was doubled and abandoned warehouses were brought to life as the basis for a new city model.