Catalonia’s new far right rides anti-Muslim wave to election gains

Nearly a decade after Catalonia’s failed independence bid, a different political force is reshaping the region. Anti-migration and anti-Muslim sentiment have replaced secession as the main driver for many voters. A new far-right party, Aliança Catalana (Catalan Alliance), is surging in polls and could become the second biggest political force in Catalonia after the Socialists at the next regional election in 2028.

From secession to security

The party has taken support from the established secessionist parties, Together for Catalonia and the Catalan Republican Left, which led the 2017 breakaway attempt. Eduard Lopez, a businessman from Molins de Rei near Barcelona, said all his friends now support Catalan Alliance. He believes there are too many migrants and that Islam is a threat. “These other independence parties are from the past. They failed to do what they said they would,” he said.

Fear in the Muslim community

Catalonia has the largest Muslim population in Spain, with 2.4 million Muslims nationwide. The rise of Catalan Alliance has alarmed many. Soukayna El Abdi, president of Young Moroccans of Ripoll, said the party spreads unfounded hate. “Most people come to integrate, to work and live among others. The rise of [Catalan] Alliance is about unfounded hate,” she said. She added that she fears for her parents and two brothers who still live in Ripoll.

A local start with national impact

Catalan Alliance began in Ripoll, a small town near the French border where a cell plotted the 2017 Barcelona attack that killed 16 people. Its leader, Silvia Orriols, is also the mayor of Ripoll. She warns that without substantial change, Catalonia’s prospects are bleak, citing mass immigration, insecurity, and the decline of the Catalan language. A September poll for El Mundo predicted the party could win 25–28 seats and 16.7 percent of the vote, while the Socialists would lose 10 seats. The party currently holds two seats in the Catalan parliament.