PP and Vox approve the law to build more amid accusations of breaking regulations.

PalmIn the final stretch of the parliamentary term, the People's Party (PP) and Vox have pushed through the Land Acquisition Law, which will allow for the construction of thousands of homes on developable land and the rezoning of rural land. It also paves the way for a planning amnesty in protected areas of the Serra de Tramuntana. The law was passed despite complaints from the left, which accused the sponsoring groups of violating parliamentary rules. The reason is that a new article was added at the time of the vote, when the text that usually reaches the plenary session is the opinion issued by the parliamentary committee. The left-wing groups have announced that they will take the law to the Constitutional Court (CC).

Housing Minister José Luis Mateo defended the law—which expands the decree law for construction in Palma approved a few months ago—assuring that it "will alleviate the housing problem" on the islands. He insisted that the beneficiaries of the properties will have to be residents and that a large portion will be subject to some form of protection, such as limited-price or subsidized apartments. The Housing Minister contrasted the text with the "leftist model," which "allowed the development of the luxury housing neighborhood of Nou Llevant or the construction of 3,000 villas with swimming pools on rural land in Mallorca alone."

Similarly, he asserted that the law will allow for a reduction in construction times, going from the current ten-plus years to a shorter period, estimated at between one and a half and two years, as they will be processed urgently and with a single procedure for processing the land use plan, the reparcelling project, and the reparcelling project. Regarding transition areas—areas of rural land near urban areas that can be rezoned under the law—the regional minister explained that the decision to build housing will be left to each local council.

Mateo insisted that the law will serve to unblock land with a "vocation" for construction in towns with more than 20,000 inhabitants, and will unblock and expedite construction on urban and developable land in municipalities with more than 10,000 inhabitants.

The left points out irregularities

The left denounced irregularities in the processing of the law. "They stopped at nothing," criticized the Més MP for Menorca, Josep Castells: "They issued a decree law, rewrote it with amendments, and when we no longer had time to amend it, they rewrote it with compromises." The way it was drafted, he said, "is full of errors." "The ultimate act of authoritarianism is forcing us to debate this absolutely flawed ruling," he insisted: "For you, the Parliament is a nuisance and a hindrance."

PSIB, MÁS por Mallorca, Más por Menorca, and Unidas Podemos have denounced that several amendments presented "obscure points or a lack of clarity" and were introduced after the deadline. One of them concerns the possibility of legalizing planning violations on rural land with an eight-year statute of limitations. However, the lawyers upheld the parliamentary debate.

The PSIB announces that it will challenge the law

PSIB spokesperson Iago Negueruela has warned that they will challenge the law in the Constitutional Court. "Our commitment is to have it repealed immediately," he warned. "Why don't all those who defend citizens' rights believe in this law?" he asked: "Illegalities in the Tramuntana Mountains."

There was a protest outside the Parliament. concentration against the legalization of irregular rural construction projects. "They lied, saying that rural construction wouldn't be possible and that they would exhaust urban land," he continued, and he criticized the PP's argument that the regulation would benefit residents. "A resident of Son Roca who wants to buy an apartment at the limited price you have set would take 33 years to do so, spending 100% of their salary," he explained. "It's not because of these people, it's because Germans and Swedes live there."

"They're textbook Trumpists; they don't give a damn," retorted Ferran Rosa (MÁS por Mallorca). "Vox said it was here to destroy the institutions of self-government, and it's doing so. This law is a demonstration of this, because we're facing the greatest legal and territorial perversion," he declared. In this law, he warned, "there isn't a single solution for people who can't make ends meet." "They're about to destroy everything we are. Nothing will remain," declared Cristina Gómez of Unides Podem.

Vox, on the left: "In 2027, the people will put them where they belong."

Vox MP Sergio Rodríguez has accused the left of summoning protesters to the doors of Parliament "with lies and falsehoods." "One hundred percent of what is built will be housing with some form of social security," he argued.