Salt will host on Sunday, May 31, the first anti-racist race between this municipality and Girona, an event promoted to raise funds to pay 5,000 euros in fines accumulated by members of the Sindicat d'Habitatge de Salt. The sanctions were imposed by the Mossos d'Esquadra during actions to stop evictions.
The event is born with underlying political friction. While the organizers proposed a visible route through Calle Mayor in Salt and the Paseo de Olot in Girona, the city councils rejected that route and forced a modification that has been criticized by the collective, which accuses the Salt council of trying to move the event towards the Deveses area.
The start and finish will be located at the Factoria Cultural de la Coma Cros at ten in the morning. So far, the organization has registered 210 participants and the support of 80 entities.
The city councils rejected the route through Calle Mayor and Paseo de Olot
The change of itinerary has become one of the focal points of the public presentation of the event. The promoters wanted the race to cross two central points of Salt and Girona, but finally the event will not pass through Calle Mayor or Paseo de Olot.
Aliou Diallo, a member of the Cacau i Negritud collective, linked this refusal to the political climate surrounding the initiative.
"The City Council or any public entity should enthusiastically welcome the organization of an anti-racist race through your town, especially in Salt, and we have not received that response. It says a lot about this city council and the current political moment" - Aliou Diallo, member of Cacau i Negritud
The organizers maintain that the Salt City Council tried to move the event towards Deveses, an option they interpret as a move away from the urban center and the visibility they sought for the event.
Registration costs ten euros and aims to cover 5,000 euros in sanctions
The race will have a five-kilometer route and a very specific economic purpose. The proceeds will be used to cover 5,000 euros in fines still pending payment among members of the Sindicat d'Habitatge de Salt.
Anna Mas, a member of the union, explained that these sanctions usually arise from disobedience to authority or occupation of public space during actions to try to stop evictions.
"We have been paying it as best we could and now we have fines of 5,000 euros for not paying and we have no money. That's why we are thinking of holding the race and that people can continue to come and demonstrate, because it is our right, of course" - Anna Mas, member of the Sindicat d'Habitatge de Salt
Registration costs ten euros per person and is five for vulnerable groups. In addition, the organization allows financial contributions without participating in the race, a formula with which it seeks to increase revenue beyond the runners.
After the race, the day will continue at Coma Cros with musical activities, bar service, and t-shirt sales. The program aims to extend the event throughout the rest of the day in the same starting and finishing area.
From the Sindicat d'Habitatge de Salt, they maintain that evictions continue to occur constantly in the town and add that some of these cases do not come to the attention of the group. The race will begin at ten in the morning on Sunday, May 31, at the Coma Cros Cultural Factory.