Miquel Camps: "We still have time to avoid being a new Ibiza"

CiutadellaThe territorial coordinator of GOB, Miquel Camps Taltavull (Maó, 1963), is warming up to launch from this Saturday, June 13 (7:30 PM), the new summer of mobilizations announced by Via Menorca. An army of ants "fed up with mass tourism" are already walking towards the Biosphere Square in Maó to demonstrate in defense of the right to housing and against those who "suck our water dry until the aquifers are left dry" and those who "condemn us to precarious jobs to barely live off tourism".

It has been exactly two years since you started the demonstrations and protests through the Via Menorca platform. What drives you to do it?

— In reality, we started the protest actions four or five years ago, with excursions to denounce the unsustainability of some areas. But, following the lecture series Menorca a la deriva, we realized that the island is getting out of control. Many people in their thirties attended one of these sessions with whom we connected well and decided to set up what has been Via Menorca since 2024. It is a medium and long-term initiative to ensure that the island finds its way again, as in the last century with the Biosphere Reserve and the first Territorial Plan, which marked the differentiated line to be followed by the other islands. It is about putting an end to the uncontrolled growth in tourist arrivals. Because the result is that there is a lack of accessible housing for young people, whose life projects are stalled, and the dependence on the tourist monoculture is growing stronger.

This Saturday a new mobilization has been called to make it known that the buzz of protest is growing. For what purpose?

— We want Menorca to regain its helm and not be carried away any longer by markets that only seek immediate profitability. The island suffers from the problems of growing overpopulation. The number of tourists has grown by 80% in 15 years, from 1 million to 1.8 million. And this growth has not been caused by more construction in urban areas, but by the phenomenon of tourist rentals. Houses are being emptied of residents to accommodate tourists, and we no longer have enough to house the workforce that must come to work in the sector. This saturation also causes a lack of water and the entire economy to be based on tourism.

Is the only way to solve the housing problem to limit tourist rentals?

— We don't have any anti-tourism stance, we simply ask for control. It's about deciding on a cap for tourist arrivals so that reality doesn't bring us so many problems later. The first step would be not to renew tourist rental permits in traditional neighborhoods so that they are spaces only for residents. Legal tourist rentals in Menorca amount to about 6,000 homes and 30,000 places, but the illegal offer is estimated at another 6,000 homes. Only in this way can it be explained that at the peak of summer there are 230,000 people when there are not so many declared places in Menorca. The fact is that these 12,000 homes were previously available for residents and that, if we do not reverse this trend, the figure will continue to grow.

The Territorial Plan (PTI) has indeed set a new tourism ceiling for Menorca.

— That's true, but the proposal for the study of tourist carrying capacity implies growing by 25,000 more places, which is an absolute suicide. 

According to your calculations, Menorca receives 20 tourists for every resident, but, even so, it continues to be said that the situation is not as bad as in Mallorca and Ibiza. Does that console you?

— No, because urgent measures that yield quick results are still needed, as is the case with limiting tourist vehicles. It is a measure that was already taken years ago in Formentera and which, with only one year of application, has already managed to reduce tourist pressure in Ibiza. This, which is already done on two islands where the same party that governs Menorca is in power, is also being debated in Mallorca. Menorca is the only island that has not yet limited car entry. It is a very clear demonstration that there is no one at the wheel in Menorca. And yes, the discourse is made that we are not as bad as other islands, when what we have to do is not wait until we are to take measures. There are already municipalities with serious problems supplying water to the population.

A real change of course is only achieved with a political change in the Island Council? The previous eight years of left-wing government have not stopped this obsession either...

— I'm not sure that everything can be fixed with a change of government, but rather with a change in the way of governing. The fact is that before launching Via Menorca, we had already promoted activities to warn that things were being done wrong. In fact, the increase in tourist rental places occurred mainly before the 2022 moratorium. Menorca lacks a holistic vision, and that's why there has been citizen mobilization for a few years now. We need that, whoever governs, certain parameters are controlled. If we want to look to the future, we must look at Ibiza, where tourist rentals are promoted by investment funds that keep all the business and leave the problem on the island. We still have time for Menorca not to become another Ibiza.

It's fine that you spread blame on a political level, because GOB is the main driver of Via Menorca and the current government of the Council has often disparaged the entity, saying it is politicized.

— They say environmentalism is left-wing when it is not. The problem is that Spanish right-wing parties are very un-environmentalist. They have very little environmental commitment, unlike in other countries. The conservative team of the Council rejects some data because it says they are politicized when they are official and they themselves can verify them. It is a mistake to try to polarize the debate as an excuse not to make any decisions. 

There are hoteliers and renewable energy promoters who do tune in with the GOB's position.

— In the economic sphere, there are many sectors with which we understand each other. Especially with those who have a medium and long-term vision, but not with those who want immediate results. Menorca has shown that the commitment to conservation and protection is good for the economy. In fact, natural spaces are what we show to the outside world and what is most valued as a differentiated offering.

How has the substitution of land ownership that has been occurring this past decade in Menorca affected it?

— I care little whether the main landowner in Menorca is called Comte de Torre Saura or Víctor Madera. The most important thing is what he wants and what he can do. The mobilizations of the 80s and 90s were to achieve a new model, later fostered in the Biosphere Reserve and the Territorial Plan. To achieve this, we had many confrontations to defend the territory with the heirs of the first landowners, who were very interested in urbanizing. So, having changed the lineage now is neither good nor bad. What is basic is that the PTI continues to defend the island. If Menorca has a PTI like the current one, and not like the one that is intended to be modified in the Council, who cares if Colom's island belongs to the Roca family or Víctor Madera? If the island is protected, this substitution has no effect, but it will have one if we unprotected it.

Is the aborted reform of the PTI, which the Consell government is reformulating, now the main threat?

— It is the biggest threat Menorca has, yes. If the PTI is modified with the terms they wanted, Menorca would become Ibiza and we would have to mobilize.

It has over 40 years of activism. How has citizen mobilization in the protection of the territory evolved over this time?

— The mobilizations of the early 80s for the defense of Cala en Turqueta and Macarella were mixed with the end of Francoism and the desire for democracy. When the GOB demonstrated to prevent urban developments in sensitive areas, we were told that we were attacking the economy, but history has shown that our bet was the correct one, as in the long run it benefits Menorca and, since then, the island has had many successes in the conservation of spaces. But for years now we have not been doing toponymic environmentalism to save Albufera des Grau or other places, but rather a more metabolic environmentalism. Today's demonstrations focus on how we manage water, waste, energy, and housing. It is a more difficult objective to convey to the population, a long-term struggle, and it is up to young people who feel their well-being is under attack to know how to mobilize and organize.

Is there relief?

— Yes. A good part of the GOB staff has already been renewed and 90% of those who promote Via Menorca campaigns are under 40 years old. It is in process.

How long will Miquel Camps be in this fight?

— I don't know how long I can maintain this intensity. We have been working within the GOB for a while to ensure there is a team of prepared people who can take over. No one is indispensable.