Three political parties, ERC, Comuns, and CUP, have demanded the immediate dismissal of Josep Lluís Trapero, director of the Mossos d'Esquadra, following the infiltration of plainclothes police officers into a teachers' assembly in Barcelona. Trade unions USTEC, Professors de Secundària (Aspepc-SPS), CGT, and Intersindical, organisers of recent education strikes, reported discovering two undercover agents at a Barcelona assembly on Wednesday.
Jordi Albert, ERC's deputy spokesperson in the Catalan Parliament, described the incident as "inadmissible and intolerable." He called for Trapero's immediate removal, stating that such an "attempt to restrict trade union action" had no place in a democratic country amidst an education dispute. Albert placed the responsibility squarely on Trapero, not the individual officers, saying, "The responsibility is not with the two Mossos officers who were discovered yesterday. The responsibility lies with the police director." He also criticised Trapero for not making a public appearance.
Albert linked the episode to recent discussions about the presence of Mossos in educational centres, remarking that it "adds insult to injury." He called for clarification on whether such infiltration had occurred previously and if it was part of a broader "strategy" by police leadership. While not explicitly connecting the incident to budget negotiations between ERC and the government, Albert insisted that "decisions must be made with the utmost forcefulness."
Calls for Dismissal and Appearances
The CUP went further, placing responsibility on the government's leadership. Deputy Xavier Pellicer suggested that President Salvador Illa's message to the Mossos was to "do what you want and have a free hand to act with absolute impunity," directly pointing to Interior Minister Núria Parlon. Pellicer claimed the infiltrations were not isolated but part of a "harassment campaign" against the teaching movement, noting that "a hundred sanctions" were already linked to the mobilisations. The CUP suspects the agents belong to the Information Commissioner's Office, though Pellicer admitted they could not confirm other cases.
Pellicer demanded immediate resignations, focusing on Trapero. "The person responsible for the operation must be dismissed. The police director, Josep Lluís Trapero, if he was aware, must also be dismissed, and if he was not, then also," Pellicer declared. He added that the Interior Department's statement yesterday "de facto recognised" and "legitimised" the action. The CUP announced requests for information from the Interior Department regarding infiltrations in assemblies, events, and mobilisations. They also jointly registered a proposal with the Comuns to expand the work plan of the investigation committee on police infiltrations to include appearances by Trapero, Mossos Chief Commissioner Miquel Esquius, Information officials, and Minister Parlon.
Initially, the Comuns had requested immediate explanations without demanding Trapero's dismissal. However, parliamentary spokesperson David Cid later posted on X that after 24 hours without "any explanation or apology" regarding the infiltration, "responsibilities must be assumed," and Trapero should be dismissed.
Earlier, party deputy Andrés García Berrio stated that the events crossed "red lines" but did not call for dismissal. Berrio acknowledged that his group had no official confirmation from the Interior Department about the identity of the two individuals, but said "all indications point" to them being Mossos agents, and the Interior Department's "non-denial" reinforced the suspicion. He called for an "effective investigation" and a rectification if the infiltration was confirmed. Berrio also advocated for an independent mechanism to control police forces, similar to those in the United Kingdom.
Government Under Scrutiny
Judith Toronjo, Junts' organisation secretary, demanded that the Interior Department confirm or deny the infiltrations and clarify who within the government was aware. She accused the executive of being "absolutely overwhelmed" by the education dispute, linking the controversy to strike calls, the lack of agreement with the educational community, and the pilot plan for Mossos in schools. Toronjo stated that Illa's declarations this morning, where he claimed not to be aware, "show clear government disorganisation."
Junts has submitted parliamentary questions to the Interior and Education departments. They also noted that they had previously requested appearances from Parlon, Education Minister Esther Niubó, and Illa himself to discuss the situation in educational centres.
On Thursday, ERC, Junts, the CUP, and the Comuns jointly submitted a request for an "extraordinary and urgent" convocation of the Parliament's Interior and Education committees. This aims to have Minister Parlon, Minister Niubó, and Trapero appear before them.
