When the verdict of the trial against the main leaders of the procés was announced on October 14th, the pro-independence movement launched a series of protest demonstrations. Some of them, directed by Tsunami Democràtic, were very intense, such as the occupation of El Prat airport and the blocking of the AP-7 motorway in La Jonquera, but they were short-lived. Others, perhaps less visible, have been maintained over time, keeping alive the demands in support of the repressed and independence.
Blockade participants with activist t-shirts / Montse Giralt
Among them all, Meridiana Resisteix stands out, the collective that, since the verdict was announced, has become an important nucleus of resistance. A few months before the two-year anniversary of the sentence, it maintains protest actions in form of roadblocks. They usually do so at Avinguda Meridiana, near the Sant Andreu Arenal train station, but currently they hold them at the junction of Passeig de Fabra i Puig and Carrer Concepció Arenal. Although they stopped the actions during lockdown, and at the moment they only do it three times a week — Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, from 19.30h to 21.30 h—, the collective will perform this Friday its 500th blockade, and they announced that starting Monday 30th they will return to daily protests, including the weekend.
An "assembly-based" and "transversal" movement
The protest initiative, which has had its ups and downs and has had to face counter-demonstrations and evictions, continues to live on partly because it is "a neighbourhood and transversal movement, where political parties do not count," according to David, one of the members of the collective. He recalls that at first they began blocking traffic without notification, but very soon, to avoid police problems, "an agreement was reached with the ANC, which notifies about the blockade". "They provide the legal cover, but that's the only link we have," he adds.
Calling poster for the 500th blockade / Meridiana Resisteix
David, who points out that on Friday they will reach "500 blockades, but not 500 actions, because we have done many more apart from blocking traffic", considers that one of the reasons for the success of this collective is its character as an "assembly-based movement, organising a weekly assembly where everything is put up for debate, although there is a small coordination group."
Continuity after the pardons
Throughout the almost two years since its formation, Meridiana Resisteix has maintained its activity, although there have been uctuations in the number of participants. "Now in August 40 or 50 people attend, normally we are roughly 90 or 110 attendants", says the member of the collective, while pointing out that once the pardons were granted to political prisoners, it was debated whether to stop mobilisations, but they decided to continue because "the protests were not only for the political prisoners, who are also the ones who have received the most media support, but for all those who have suffered reprisals". Moreover, it should be borne in mind that "among the more than 3,000 repressed there are some of us, participants in Meridiana Resisteix".
A banner in support of Catalan independence / Montse Giralt
Opposition movements
One of the problems that Meridiana Resisteix has encountered during its existence is the opposition of neighbours and users of the Meridiana avenue, but mainly the pro-Spain collective Meridiana sin Cortes, a group of people composed, according to Meridiana Resisteix, by "a majority of non-neighbours who are instrumentalized by the right".
Moment of the day's press / Montse Giralt
To this fact must be added the institutional opposition, since "Barcelona’s Town Hall does not support the blockades and some parts of the Catalan ministry of the interior do not want them either, although others do". In the face of all this, Meridiana Resisteix maintains that despite being "aware of the inconvenience", the demonstrations will continue, which are currently more controlled, with prior blockades by the Guàrdia Urbana Catalan police. "At the beginning, there were some hit-and-runs, but now there are no more vehicles passing through when we block the road because the Guàrdia Urbana cuts off the accesses", they point out, adding that "emergency vehicles can pass through".
Unusual sardana, without hand-holding due to Covid measures / Montse Giralt
After the 499th blockade on Thursday, the 500th will take place this Friday 27th August, at the junction of Fabra i Puig and Concepció Arenal, to continue defending the same demands as on the first day: "The application of the results of 1st October, the release of the repressed and the return of the exiles, and Catalonia's independence". Until that happens, as of Monday 30th, the protests will resume on a daily basis.