El magnat Sheldon Adelson. Font: Euronews
As more details arrive about the possible arrival of the Eurovegas mega project in Barcelona promoted by the American magnate Sheldon Adelson [1] we are also witnessing an increase in people opposed to the initiative that is being felt strongly in social networks. After the president of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Artur Mas, indicated [2] [cat] that a project like Eurovegas and the commitment towards knowledge to develop the economy of the country are compatible, and this in turn has produced a lot of criticism online.
The media have spread the opposition to the project and jointly expressed their feeling about the project in a meeting at the Col·legi d’Arquitectes de Catalunya (COAC) together with different organisations of architects and urban planners who have issued a statement [3] [cat]:
En espera de més informació per part del Govern de la Generalitat de Catalunya sobre el projecte denominat Eurovegas, les tres organitzacions professionals catalanes d’urbanistes i disciplines territorials volem expressar mitjançant aquest document conjunt, en primer lloc la nostra perplexitat sobre el procediment seguit fins ara en aquest tema; en segon lloc, manifestar la nostra defensa de la legitimitat de l’ordenament jurídic i el planejament territorial i urbanístic vigent; i finalment, donar un toc d’alerta sobre el valor de precedent que aquest procediment d’excepcionalitat suposaria en el tractament de les singularitats en l’ordenació del territori i que fins ara, amb aquest abast i escala, resulta inèdit a Catalunya.
While waiting for further information from the Government of Catalonia about the Eurovegas project the three Catalan professional organisations of urban and regional planners wish to express through this document three important issues. The first is the perplexity about the procedures so far regarding this issue and secondly, they want to express the defense of the legitimacy of the legal system and the existing regional and urban planning. And finally to alert the people about the precedent value of this procedure that would exceptional in dealing with singularities in the planning system and that until now in terms of scope and scale is unprecedented in Catalonia.
Criticism has not only come from the urban planners, the church have laso voiced their opposition. The Diocese of Sant Feliu de Llobregat issued a statement [4] [cat] against the Eurovegas project, given the fact that if the project comes to Catalonia it would be on land in the region of the Baix Llobregat area.
L’objecció més greu que posem a aquest projecte és el preu humà que exigeix per a obtenir un hipotètic benefici econòmic. El preu humà, la pèrdua de qualitat humana que suposaria, seria real i profunda, encara que romangui amagada al costat del miratge d’un possible benefici.
The most serious objection to the Project is the human price involved that is required to achieve a hypothetical financial benefit. The human price and the loss of human qualities that this involves would be very real and profound, although this remains hidden next to the mirage of possible benefits.
Meanwhile the deputy mayor of Sant Joan Despí, Elena Embuena, published her opposition [5] [cat] to the project in her blog and she said there have been many lies regarding the initiative:
Primer deien que serien 260.ooo [6] i quan s’ha comprovat que, com a màxim seran 15.000 [7] i en 5 anys, la cosa ja no és tan atractiva. No cal dir que són treballs de poca qualitat, ja que el mateix Adelson ha dit que els dirigents els porta ell d’Amèrica ja preparats.
Firstly they spoke about 260,000 jobs [6] and when this number was checked it was discovered that there would be at the most 15,000 jobs [7] [cat] in a period of five years, making it a lot less attractive. And needless to say these are poor quality jobs, as Adelson himself has already pointed out.
The reaction from Catalans on Twitter has been anything but favourable. Below we have a sample of opinions, but as you will see most are against the project:
@miqueldroid [8] La gent aturada no dóna l’abast Per seguir les solucions i propostes alternatives de feina que proposen els de aturem #Eurovegas
@miqueldroid [8] La gent aturada no dóna l’abast Per seguir les solucions i propostes alternatives de feina que proposen els de aturem #Eurovegas
@maxmudu [9] Questions about Eurovegas http://www.bisbatsantfeliu.cat/noticia.php?id=148 [10] A lucid and prophetic view from the Bishop of St. Feliu. Thanks!
@maxmudu [9] Questions about Eurovegas http://www.bisbatsantfeliu.cat/noticia.php?id=148 [10] #BisbatSantFeliu. A lucid and prophetic view from the Bishop of St. Feliu. Thanks!
@urian1983 [11] Per parlar despectivament del Eurovegas la excusa del meu pare es dir que hi ha darrera un Jueu. Només veu TV3, aixo ho diu tot.
@urian1983 [11] To speak badly of Eurovegas, my father’s excuse is that there is always a Jewish person involved. You only have to watch TV3, that says it all.
@AturemEurovegas [12] Una de les accions que hem decidit pel proper dilluns 25 (visita d'Adelson): cacerolada davant la seu de CiU a Barcelona a les 19h! RT!
@AturemEurovegas [12] One of tha actions planned for next Monday the 25th(Adelson’s visit): “cacerolada” in front of the CiU headquarters in Barcelona at 7pm! RT!
In addition to the protests against the project witnessed on Twitter, signatures are also being collected on the Avaaz website [13] [es] to argue against the construction of the mega project in the Llobregat delta.