The police pressure brought about by the new regulations does not end with a phenomenon that is still present in the main parking areas
Almost like the Guadiana: sometimes there is more, sometimes less, but, in the background, they are always there, and it is enough to take a simple turn to check it. The gorillas that populate the main parking areas in the center of Murcia have battled in the last two years against the pandemic and the consequent confinements –already distant in memory–, a circumstance that reduced for a time their possibilities of obtaining resources by obtaining tips. . But they have also had to circumvent the offensive undertaken by the City Council against this activity almost two and a half years ago. It was at the end of January 2020 when the so-called Regulatory Ordinance of Certain Activities or Conduct in the Public Space came into force.
Despite this euphemistic name, the rule had as its main objective to combat this phenomenon so denounced by drivers, through two ways: that of identification and sanction and that of the seizure of the money obtained. It seemed at first that the number of valet parking was reduced and even disappeared from certain points. But over time, and hand in hand with their ability to adapt and a benign climate, these beggars have once again taken over their traditional territories. Regulating certain behaviors is not always a guarantee that they can be eradicated or significantly reduced, even more so those that are especially resistant because they are rooted in social problems such as poverty, irregular legal situations or addictions.
Yesterday there were gorillas early in the morning around the Provincial Traffic Headquarters. “That one is new; this morning they are few; sometimes there are more and, even, in the afternoons they increase because there is a greater police presence”, says Salvador, who owns a business in the area. «Here, in Centrofama, the level is the same as it was a few years ago; they are organized to share what they collect and they are not especially problematic, although sometimes a new drunk appears and the weapon ”, points out Guillermo from the lottery administration, assuring that some of the older clients confess to being afraid of these people. “The truth is that this is one of the most complicated areas,” says an ORA controller, explaining that he has sometimes had to deal with complaints from drivers angry at having to pay double rates: the valet and the blue Zone.
Merchants point out that the situation has not eased or “is worse” than before the pandemic in San Esteban and Centrofama
“In San Esteban we are almost worse than before the pandemic: there are the same or more, they sometimes fight among themselves and the other day the Police had to come because a few of them dedicated themselves to hitting some cars,” says Mari Carmen, while He watched from his kiosk at the four young people who, sheltered under the shade of the trees, were waiting to receive some coins from those who had just parked. The area around Carmelitas, on Santa Joaquina Vedruna street, in front of the Segura River, is another of the hot spots where these beggars are concentrated in large numbers, as is the Malecón deterrent, with the difference that this is an area where parking is not regulated.
«I’ve been doing this for two months because I don’t have another job; who wants to help me, without pressure”, says a Senegalese immigrant
Nor is their presence lacking next to facilities or health centers such as La Vega, Morales Meseguer and La Arrixaca. Yesterday, the surroundings of the main hospital in the Region of Murcia reflected a better situation, in this aspect, than the one it presented some time ago, although some gorillas could be seen in the free dissuasive parking that had emerged informally, next to the El Palmar football field , after the withdrawal of the concession to the company Apa Confer. Meanwhile, Aliú, originally from Senegal, seeks the solidarity of those who are his neighbors next to the church of San Antón. «I’ve been doing this for two months because I can’t find a job; whoever wants to gives me something and whoever doesn’t, leaves without problems », he assures, adding that he barely gets around five euros a day. Shortly after, he tells a young man who has just arrived to get his ORA ticket on the sidewalk in front of the long queue at the nearest terminal.
“They’re not that bad”
Although most of the drivers recognized yesterday that they give some money to the ‘gorrillas’ for fear of reprisals in their vehicles, not all of them showed a belligerent attitude. “I have a habit of leaving them something, but to help”, acknowledged Miguel. «I don’t usually give them anything and I’m not afraid that they will do anything to the car; they are not so bad, ”Alicia defends, before leaving 20 cents to a valet. “Some, even to justify themselves, give you an ORA ticket without consuming, although now registration is necessary,” explains Guillermo.
Almost 14,300 euros seized
If this activity, that of valet parking, has not declined, it will not be because the fight has not continued. It is true that the regulatory ordinance came from the hand of the PP and received the vote against the then main opposition party, the PSOE, “due to its inconsistency, due to the shortage of existing police officers and for focusing on tax collection issues.” However, the Police officers have continued with the actions in application of this regulation, so that, since March 2, 2020, 14,122 complaints have been made and 14,239 euros have been intervened. Likewise, there have been 136 arrests for violating the immigration law. “It’s the same, they take their money or they run away, but when the police disappear, they immediately come back,” says a merchant from the environment of the Traffic Headquarters. “It is true that they have proliferated again, but incidents with citizens have been reduced,” says the promoter of the norm, the mayor Eduardo Martínez-Oliva.
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