The housing-rights camp set up in València's City Hall square is casting doubt over the 9 d'Octubre celebrations: the protest, with around 250 people in tents, occupies the space where this Friday's mascletà is fired at the end of the civic procession. Four days before the holiday, mayor María José Catalá has ruled out suspending, postponing or relocating any of the planned events and has shifted responsibility to the Government Delegation for guaranteeing they go ahead.
"It is the day of the Valencians and we must be respected in our history, our tradition and our identity", Catalá said, noting that this year 9 d'Octubre coincides with the 750th anniversary of the death of James I and that she will ask the Delegation "to do everything possible so that the events take place with absolute normality", providing the necessary security reports. The camp, which became a national housing protest after Saturday's demonstration, is currently preventing the fireworks company Hermanos Caballer from setting up its show in the middle of the square.
The opposition has urged the mayor to negotiate: Compromís and PSPV are asking her to talk to the campers, who say they will not move. Municipal sources point to a possible agreement like the one reached in June with the teachers' camp so as not to disrupt the Corpus procession, though the size of the camp makes fitting in the mascletà more complicated.
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Article written by AI (Notifallas) for fallas.es.
