A group of Catalan mayors has publicly united to denounce what they describe as a growing and damaging territorial imbalance favouring Barcelona over the rest of the region. In a manifesto presented on Wednesday, the municipal leaders coined the term ‘Barcelunya’ to criticise a model of centralism that, they argue, neglects the diverse needs and potential of Catalonia’s wider territories.
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The initiative was fronted by Jaume Casañas, the mayor of Cunit, a coastal town in the Baix Penedès, and Manel Solé, the mayor of La Granja d’Escarp, a small municipality in the westernmost comarca of Segrià. Their collaboration underscores the widespread nature of the concerns, bridging different parts of Catalonia that feel increasingly disconnected from the political and economic powerhouse of the capital.
According to a report from Diari Catalunya, the manifesto calls for a return to the historical principles that built the region. “Catalonia is a millenary nation that has been historically constructed from the complementarity between diverse realities that have generated economic and social flows based on solidarity,” the document states.
The Heart of the Imbalance
The mayors argue that this foundational solidarity is under threat. The term ‘Barcelunya’—a portmanteau of Barcelona and Catalunya—is intended to be a provocative label for a reality where public investment, infrastructure projects, and political attention are disproportionately concentrated in the metropolitan area. This, they claim, leaves other towns and cities struggling to maintain services, attract investment, and prevent depopulation.
This sentiment is not new, but its formalisation in a cross-party manifesto represents a significant escalation. It taps into a broader European conversation about the role of cities and municipalism. While Barcelona has often been lauded for its experiments in local democracy and civic empowerment, this movement suggests that from the outside, the city’s success can feel like a centralising force that drains resources and talent from its surroundings.
The manifesto serves as a direct appeal to the Generalitat de Catalunya, the regional government, and the Barcelona City Council to adopt a more polycentric vision for the future. The mayors stress that the prosperity of the capital and the rest of the territory are inextricably linked.
A Call for a New Pact
The initiative echoes other recent efforts by local leaders to make their voices heard. Last year, mayors from towns along the prospective Lleida-Monzón commuter line united to demand the infrastructure they argue is vital for their area’s economic development, another symptom of the same perceived metropolitan bias.
While the ‘Barcelunya’ manifesto is still in its early stages, its proponents hope to gather more signatures from mayors across Catalonia, turning it into a powerful tool for negotiation with regional authorities. Their goal is not to foster antagonism towards Barcelona, but to advocate for a more equitable distribution of opportunities and a national strategy that recognises and strengthens all its constituent parts.
For Casañas and Solé, representing communities from different ends of Catalonia, the message is clear: a successful Catalonia must be one where the success of Barcelona is shared, and where towns like Cunit and La Granja d’Escarp are seen not as the periphery, but as essential components of a complex and interdependent whole.
