Enric Batista Solanes was sworn in as a Junts councillor at Tarragona City Council’s ordinary plenary meeting on Friday 18 September, taking the seat previously held by Josep Manresa, who died in July.

The appointment gives Junts a replacement for the vacant elected post. For Tarragona residents, Batista brings experience of neighbourhood policing, work with schools and local associations, and Roma community representation into the municipal chamber. The plenary was held in the Diputació de Tarragona’s assembly hall while the city’s municipal meeting room remains under refurbishment.

In his first address as a councillor, Batista paid tribute to Manresa and said Tarragona would progress if it left no one behind. He described himself as a Catalan Roma man and called for recognition of the city’s diversity.

“We have long called for a voice and for the chance to work for the Roma people, and for every resident, from Tarragona City Council,” Batista said. “This must form part of the history of the city and of the Roma people too. Rather than complaining so much, we need more work.”

From regional police work to the council chamber

Batista stood fourth on the Junts list led by Jordi Sendra in the 2023 municipal election, as an independent candidate. He served with the Mossos d’Esquadra, Catalonia’s regional police force, from 1989 to 2023, including work in prisons and, from 2018, as a corporal leading the Community Relations Office and neighbourhood policing team in Tarragona’s police district.

That role involved neighbourhood patrols and liaison with schools, secondary schools, residents’ associations, mayors and councillors in the area. It also included prevention campaigns on thefts of copper, agricultural machinery and carob crops in surrounding towns, according to the council’s announcement of his appointment.

  • Batista worked at Mas d’Enric prison in El Catllar as a coordinating corporal.
  • He delivered school talks on safety, online risks and the criminal responsibility of under-18s.
  • Between 2021 and 2025, he was spokesperson for the Agrupació Gitana dels Països Catalans, a Catalan Roma association, working on training and youth programmes intended to improve equal access to employment.

Sendra, Junts’ spokesperson on the council, said Batista’s experience was directly relevant to the city’s neighbourhoods.

“Enric knows this city’s security from the inside and knows its social fabric because he has worked in it for 30 years,” Sendra said. “Someone is entering the plenary who knows what he is talking about when neighbourhoods are discussed.”

Council and Nàstic roles

Mayor Rubén Viñuales praised Batista’s conciliatory character and called him “a symbol”. Batista has also been involved with Club Gimnàstic de Tarragona, known as Nàstic, since 2001 and is currently the football club’s vice-president after 25 years on its board.

The Ajuntament de Tarragona’s official councillor page lists Batista as a member of the Junts municipal group for the 2023–2027 term.

Reported by tarragonaradio.cat, Ajuntament de Tarragona, Tarragona Ràdio.