About a week ago there were various reports from the local Adjuntamiento (town hall) in Barcelona about the political hot potato of prostitution on the Ramblas and how it should be handled. Obviously someone had made a bit of noise and now some poor overworked politician would have to drag his heels and be seen to do something.
Being the mega tourist destination that it is, Barcelona is worried that falling tourist numbers will soon hit the economy, whilst the whole game plan of Barcelona Tourism is switching to higher end tourism, looking to bury the drunken hen nights, the boisterous stag weekends and the sex tourism in the past.
So a few days ago there was a clamp down in certain high profile areas of the Ramblas in front of lots of cameras to show that they (local police and Adjuntamiento) are clamping down on the hookers. Well some of them. In a few places. Whilst the others around the corner carry on unhindered. And maybe tomorrow they continue in front of the police station as usual when the cameras have gone. Initially they appear to have moved to Glorias , Rambla de Catalunya and Diputacion for the moment so nothing has really been acheived and things just become harder to monitor.
Well anyway, they got some airtime and lots of column inches in the local press to show their dedication to cleaning up the Ramblas. I have no doubt there will be any reduction in street level prostitution around the Ramblas and yet again the powers that be fail to address the real issues and cash their chips in for a photo opportunity.
Speaking of photo opportunities, a few punters have recently gained their 15 minutes of fame. See any faces (or body parts) that you recognize?
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