The CUP councilor in Sant Cugat del Vallès (Barcelona) Ariadna Sierra publicly denounced this Monday the sexist practices and harassment against her by Josep Arcas, head of the Joventuts Nacionalistes de Catalunya (JNC), the youth of Junts, the ruling party in the city.
As Sierra explained in front of the other councilors of Sant Cugat and Arcas himself, present in the room, he came to show up at a place where she works as a volunteer to bring her condoms or also asked her in a private message “how many national police officers” did she meet? had gone to bed
In a video released by the CUP about her intervention in the municipal plenary session, Sierra denounces Arcas’ “obsession” with her. At the outset, he accused him of having manipulated his image on social networks with photoshop and having urged her to wear a burqa. “And he said that my fellow council member does not give me permission to speak,” Sierra stated.
That was only the first month of Sierra holding the position of mayor. But things went further, according to what he reported. After Arcas dedicated a day to distributing condoms among councilors “with the aim of preventing them from reproducing,” he took that same provocation directly to the private sphere in the case of the CUP councilor. “Not happy with it and worried about whether I should have children or not, he came to a space where I worked voluntarily, to bring me more condoms, asking and looking for me throughout the space,” he said.
Sierra assured that as a public representative she feels obliged to respond “with more patience than I should.” “But you keep going over the line,” he snapped. Immediately afterwards, he addressed the councilors of Junts. He demanded from them that, although Arcas does not speak on behalf of the party, he does, as a member of the youth, participate in the local public life of the party in events and elections.
Junts sources assure that Arcas does not belong to the party, but is technically only a member of the JNC. Even so, representatives of both the youth and the group led by Carles Puigdemont have repudiated Arcas’ actions. Marta Canas, president of Junts per Sant Cugat, has described it as an “indefensible and shameful attitude.” Those responsible for the youth have assured that they will take measures. Ariadna Urroz, its general secretary, has reported that he has been transferred to the internal disciplinary bodies and has assured that Arcas does not represent the JNC and that he has already been transferred to the CUP councilor.
Jordi Turull, general secretary of Junts, thanked Urroz for his “coherence, speed and determination” in the face of events that he described as “reprehensible.”
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