The Government "understands" the protests but rejects degrowth: "If it were applied, some would have to pack their bags"

PalmaOn the eve of the demonstration against over-tourism next Sunday, the first vice president and government spokesperson, Antoni Costa, said he understands the public's "discontent" while defending the Executive's "containment" measures for tourism. "We can be told they are insufficient, that more could be done," he said: "But we have taken measures." Nevertheless, Costa insisted on rejecting any formula that implies tourist decline. "Those who advocate for decline must tell the whole truth: it would have consequences for employment, there would be people who would have to pack their bags," he explained.

This is how Costa expressed himself three days before the rally called by the Menys Turisme, Més Vida platform, which calls for a reduction in tourist arrivals and a halt to the impact of the economic model on housing and natural resources. Although he does not yet have data, he predicted that this season there will be less saturation as a consequence of the Executive's policies. "I believe that the data at the end of the season will show that the containment measures are beginning to yield results," he said.

In parallel, he criticized the "hypocrisy" of the PSIB candidate for the regional elections, Rosario Sánchez, for supporting the demonstration despite currently being Secretary of State for Tourism and having been part of the previous Government, in which 115,000 tourist places were authorized. "What containment measures has the Spanish government taken in the Balearic Islands?" he asked.

The Spanish government is bypassed in the Sectoral Conference on Immigration

On the other hand, the Government has joined the other communities governed by the PP and has refused to participate in the XIV Sectoral Conference on Immigration, convened to review the extraordinary regularization of migrants. The Director General of Immigration, Manuel Pavón, explained this in statements collected by Europa Press. "We cannot ask communities to comment on decisions of great importance without providing the necessary information," he said: "This is not institutional cooperation".