The L’Obrera in Sabadell activates the resistance and stops eviction
translation thefreeonline on 7th November 2023 by Rose Gamonal, Gemma Garcia, and Gemma Fabrega at La Directa News + News Reports
More than 400 people gathered this Monday in front of the occupied social center L’Obrera de Sabadell to prevent its eviction.
The judge had ordered that the eviction be carried out at 9:15 a.m., so at dawn a protest had begun in front of the property by the city’s social movements and the Rental Workers’ Union.
By mid-morning the judicial procession had not arrived. The Obrera coordinators have attributed this to the weight of the mobilization and have trusted that in the end the eviction will not be carried out this Monday 6th Nov and a new date must be found.
“The neighbors want L’Obrera to stay in the neighborhood because it does great social work,” they said. As the hours progressed, the protest has turned into a festive day.
Demonstrators at the eviction trial of l’Obrera
Throughout the weekend they had organized activities to slow down the launch scheduled for Monday, November 6.
The space, which was occupied in 2015, has become a social, cultural and sporting project for the city
Hundreds of demonstrators on Monday, November 6, gathered to await the arrival of the judicial entourage.
The original building of L’Obrera (‘The Worker’ Center) belonged to the CNT anarchist trade union but was lost in the fascist takeover. They had the deed of 1918 which showed that the Worker belonged to the union. They tried and failed tonrecover the building in 1981.
l’Obrera (The Worker)after receiving the impact of the artillery of the Vergara regiment (August 1917).
On June 20, 1992, the Women’s Group and Sabadell’s anti-militarist collective, Mili KK, occupied the Obrera, which had been closed for 7 years. But they were soon evicted by the police.
Some weeks later the Local Council demolished the building in a surprise operation .
The new L’Obrera, squatted since mayday 2015, continues the historic tradition of a horizontally run popular workers center run by open assemblies
A popular gym, a school, a self-managed vegetable garden or a popular canteen could be left without a home next November 6.
The first instance court number 6 of Sabadell has ordered the eviction of the L’Obrera social center, which was occupied on May 1, 2015 and currently hosts a wide range of projects.
After more than five years of a legal battle that has reached the Supreme Court, the court has rejected the suspension of the launch and has fixed it at a quarter to ten in the morning with “the assistance of the public force” if it is necessary.
From today, Friday 3 November, L’Obrera is already giving the start to a program of activities to avoid this.
The No Passaran Festival includes lectures, concerts, meals and the participation of the mixed martial arts fighter, Abner Lloveras, and comedians Joel Díaz and Manel Vidal.
On Sunday they have organized a camping at the social center and they are calling everyone at half past six in the morning.
“We expect a large influx of people, not only from Sabadell but from Catalonia and from all over the State”, explains Marina Jiménez, a member of L’Obrera.
On Sunday they have organized a camping trip and are calling everyone at half past six in the morning. "We expect a large influx of people from Sabadell, Catalonia and from all over the State", explains Marina Jiménez
The influx that Jiménez predicts is related to the relevance that the social center has acquired for the neighborhoods of the South, for the city of Sabadell as a whole and beyond.
The former car dealership and brothel has become a social, cultural and sporting project, and the popular El Rukeli gym, on the ground floor, is a meeting point for gymnasts from all over Spain who come at the semester evenings.
In addition, last summer, the gym organized a Summer Camp that welcomed around thirty teenagers and young people. Another of L’Obrera’s main projects is the popular school La Madrasseta, which offers refresher courses in Spanish and Catalan.
Every Friday the social center becomes an open and free cultural space. The so-called “Worker’s Fridays” host talks, book presentations, musical performances, theater and debates.
For Marina Jiménez, L’Obrera “is a pillar of the fight for the recovery of common spaces” and “represents a very important space for the southern area of Sabadell, where free public services are lacking”.
When it was occupied in 2015, the property at number 142 on Avinguda Barberà had been unused for eight years and was owned by Cajamar bank.
In 2020, however, the bank sold the building to Nedax Constructora SL, with whom L’Obrera has tried to negotiate: “They only offered us the possible use of a very small part of the property at an uncertain price and, in addition, we had to leave the space for an indefinite period of time because they wanted to build flats”, says Jiménez.
On October 13, L'Obrera presented a last extraordinary appeal to stop the eviction invoking the right to culture, but it has been rejected by the property and the court
Nor have they obtained any commitment from the current City Council. Unlike in July 2018, the majority of the municipal meeting did not support the support motion to ensure the continuity of the social center, in September 2022.
While ERC and La Crida again voted in favor of it, the PSC and Citizens opposed it and Junts abstained.
Last October 13, L’Obrera presented a last extraordinary appeal to stop the eviction, which was rejected by the property and the court. The letter invokes the right to culture, highlights the activity carried out by the social center as “worthy of protection or effective judicial protection” and urges the temporary suspension until “a friendly and extrajudicial solution can be found to the continuity of all the activity carried out by L’Obrera in the local facilities”.
In addition, the defense emphasizes that the property is only asking for the recovery of the property “without providing a single reason to support its request”.
The company belongs to a former councilor of CiU.
The company that owns Nedax Constructora is directed and administered by Pere Casajoana Singla, who was councilor for Urbanism and Works for CiU in the Sant Cugat del Vallès City Council, as well as vice-president of Promusa, the Municipal Housing Society of Sant Cugat City Council.
The ownership of the property where the social center is located is part of Grupo Nedax, which offers real estate, development and construction services. Its developments are located in Sant Cugat del Vallès, Sant Antoni de Calonge, Molins de Rei and Mollet del Vallès.
—-The Trailer —-
original in Catalan
El centre social L’Obrera de Sabadell activa la resistència per evitar el desallotjament
Durant tot el cap de setmana han organitzat activitats per frenar el llançament previst pel dilluns 6 de novembre. L’espai, que es va okupar el 2015, s’ha convertit en un projecte social, cultural i esportiu referent a la ciutat 
Centenars de manifestants el dilluns 6 de novembre es concentren a l’espera de l’arribada de la comitiva judicial | Roser Gamonal
PUBLICAT: novembre 3, 2023
Un gimnàs popular, una escoleta, un hort autogestionat o un menjador popular podrien quedar-se sense llar el pròxim 6 de novembre. El jutjat de primera instància número 6 de Sabadell ha ordenat el desallotjament del centre social L’Obrera, que es va okupar el primer de maig de 2015 i en l’actualitat acull un ampli ventall de projectes.
Després de més de cinc anys d’una batalla judicial que ha arribat fins al Tribunal Suprem, el jutjat ha desestimat la paralització del llançament i l’ha fixat a un quart de deu del matí amb “l’auxili de la força pública” si és necessari. A partir d’avui, divendres 3 de novembre, L’Obrera ja dona el tret de sortida a un programa d’activitats per evitar-ho. El No passaran fest inclou conferències, concerts, àpats i la participació del lluitador d’arts marcials mixtes, Abner Lloveras, i els humoristes Joel Díaz i Manel Vidal. El diumenge han organitzat una acampada al centre social i convoquen tothom a dos quarts de sis de la matinada. “Esperem una gran afluència de gent, no només de Sabadell sinó de Catalunya i d’arreu de l’Estat”, explica Marina Jiménez, membre de L’Obrera.
El diumenge han organitzat una acampada i convoquen tothom a dos quarts de sis de la matinada. “Esperem una gran afluència de gent de Sabadell, de Catalunya i d’arreu de l’Estat”, explica Marina Jiménez
L’afluència que pronostica Jiménez guarda relació amb la rellevància que ha adquirit el centre social per als barris del Sud, per al conjunt de la ciutat de Sabadell i més enllà. L’antic concessionari de cotxes i prostíbul s’ha convertit en un projecte social, cultural i esportiu, i el gimnàs popular El Rukeli, a la planta baixa, és un punt de trobada de gimnastes d’arreu de l’Estat espanyol que acudeixen a les vetllades semestrals. A més, l’estiu passat, des del gimnàs van organitzar un Casal d’Estiu que va acollir una trentena d’adolescents i joves. Un altre dels projectes principals de L’Obrera és l’escola popular La Madrasseta, que ofereix cursos de repàs escolar, de castellà i de català.
Cada divendres el centre social es converteix en un espai cultural obert i gratuït. Els anomenats “Divendres de L’Obrera” acullen xerrades, presentacions de llibres, actuacions musicals, teatre i debats. Per Marina Jiménez, L’Obrera “és un puntal de la lluita per la recuperació dels espais comuns” i “representa un espai molt important per a la zona sud de Sabadell, on manquen serveis públics gratuïts”.
Quan es va okupar el 2015, l’immoble del número 142 de l’avinguda Barberà feia vuit anys que estava en desús i era propietat de Cajamar. El 2020, però, l’entitat bancària va vendre l’edifici a Nedax Constructora SL, amb qui L’Obrera ha intentat negociar: “Només ens van oferir un possible ús d’una part molt petita de l’immoble a un preu incert i, a més, havíem d’abandonar l’espai durant un temps indefinit perquè volien construir pisos”, relata Jiménez.
El 13 d’octubre, L’Obrera va presentar un últim recurs extraordinari per frenar el desallotjament que invoca el dret a la cultura, però ha estat desestimat per la propietat i el jutjat
Per part de l’Ajuntament actual tampoc han obtingut cap compromís. A diferència del juliol de 2018, la majoria del ple municipal no va donar suport a la moció de suport per vetllar per la continuïtat del centre social, el setembre de 2022. Mentre ERC i La Crida van tornar a votar-hi a favor, el PSC i Ciutadans ho van fer en contra i Junts es va abstenir.
El passat 13 d’octubre, L’Obrera va presentar un últim recurs extraordinari per frenar el desallotjament, que ha estat desestimat per la propietat i el jutjat. L’escrit invoca el dret a la cultura, posa en valor l’activitat que desenvolupa el centre social com “digne de protecció o tutela judicial efectiva” i insta la suspensió temporal fins que “es pugui trobar per la via amistosa i extrajudicial una solució a la continuïtat de tota l’activitat que desenvolupa L’Obrera en les instal·lacions del local”. A més, la defensa subratlla que la propietat només demana la recuperació de l’immoble “sense aportar un sol motiu que sostingui la seva petició”.
L’empresa d’un exregidor de CiU
L’empresa propietària Nedax Constructora és dirigida i administrada per Pere Casajoana Singla, qui va ser regidor d’Urbanisme i Obres per CiU a l’Ajuntament de Sant Cugat del Vallès, així com vicepresident de Promusa, la Societat Municipal d’Habitatge de l’Ajuntament de Sant Cugat.
La propietat de l’immoble on es troba el centre social forma part del Grupo Nedax que ofereix serveis immobiliaris, promoció i construcció. Les seves promocions es troben a Sant Cugat del Vallès, Sant Antoni de Calonge, Molins de Rei i Mollet del Vallès.
The Free 