Hate speech and hispanophobia are behind 51.6% of incidents of political violence in Catalonia in 2022, despite the fact that the number of incidents has decreased by 55.84% compared to 2021.
As reported this Friday by the organization Impulso Ciudadano, the fifth report on political violence in Catalonia, prepared by its Civic Observatory of Political Violence in Catalonia (Ocvpc), confirmed “the increase in ideological hate speech and hispanophobia with the complicity of power nationalist politician”. This study indicates that 98.71% of violent incidents have been perpetrated by individuals or pro-independence groups.
This report maintains that there is “a nuclear, persistent and significant element of political violence and ideological hatred” at the center of the political life of this autonomous community. In this sense, incidents with “Hispanophobic content” go from representing around 30% in previous years to being present in 80 incidents out of a total of 155, 51.6% of the total incidents collected in 2022.
The Civic Observatory of Political Violence in Catalonia denounces that 2022 has been, at the same time, a year of continuity because it continues to single out anyone who opposes the hegemonic discourse of nationalism. On the other hand, because the volume of incidents has been reduced to less than half, there has been a decrease in the number of incidents of street violence and that of the networks and the media has increased. Incidents registered on social networks increased by 9.5% from 2021 to 2022.
Incidents with elements of hate speech and hispanophobia are the most frequent, followed by insults, acts of harassment and boycotts, glorification of terrorism, acts of derision, with public disorder and violent escraches being the last incidents on the list, the less common.
Barcelona, in the lead
This analysis also highlights that the Barcelona area continues to be the leader in the concentration of localized incidents. Almost all localized violent incidents are concentrated in the province of Barcelona (89.11%) and within this, a very large majority (65.35%) occur in Barcelona. Tarragona is once again the least violent province in Catalonia, with no incidents recorded in the entire year 2022.
In addition, acts against the King and the Crown decrease. The virtual disappearance of street riots and violent public disorders of previous years means that security forces are no longer the group most affected by violent incidents. No violent or hate incidents against authorities and professionals of constitutionalist origin have been recorded.
The Ocvpc is an independent study group with no partisan ties resulting from the collaboration between Impulso Ciudadano, a constitutional entity committed to the defense and promotion of democratic values, and Movimiento contra la Intolerancia, a human rights organization specializing in the fight against crime. of hate.
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