FILE - Joan Laporta, president of Barcelona, talks with fans before the match against Rayo Vallecano in Mdarid, on Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, in Madrid. (AP Foto/Manu Fernandez, File)
BARCELONA, Spain — The small auditorium in a working-class neighborhood of Barcelona is packed with people listening to a middle-aged man in a suit tell them why he deserves their vote. There are campaign posters, a jingle blaring over loudspeakers, television cameras, lots of handshakes and selfies, and, of course, a stump speech full of pledges as well as barbs for the rival candidate.