City Hall ultimatum to former jail residents: five days to vacate with no housing alternative

PalmThe Palma City Council has given residents of the former prison five days to voluntarily leave the building before resorting to legal action to force their departure.

As reported by the Deputy Spokesperson of the City Council and Councilor for Public Function, Llorenç Bauzá, the Governing Board has agreed to notify this deadline after dismissing 45 allegations presented against the eviction. In this regard, Bauzá explained that "a response has already been given" to the residents' requests, who will have until next Monday to leave the property on their own.

If they do not, the City Council will go to court to forcibly execute the departure. Even so, the spokesperson admitted that if the process has to be resolved judicially, there is no estimated timeframe. "It is the judicial channels that must determine it," he concluded.

No housing alternatives

This new step comes after the City Council assured in mid-March that none of the residents had voluntarily left the building. At that time, the number of people notified was around 170, and the Council acknowledged that it had no housing alternatives for those affected, despite maintaining contact with entities and administrations.

In parallel with the administrative process, the situation inside the premises has continued to be marked by isolated incidents. In recent weeks, episodes such as a small fire, extinguished by the Palma Firefighters, and a fight between residents, in which the Local Police intervened, have been reported. The City Council has also warned of the risk posed by people remaining in a space with precarious conditions.

The case has also generated political and social reactions. The councilor for Podem in Cort, Lucía Muñoz, criticized the eviction and accused institutions of "criminalizing poverty," demanding that residents not be left "on the street without any alternative." Along the same lines, various entities have called for mobilizations to denounce the way the process is being carried out.

The government team, on the other hand, has defended that the action responds to safety criteria. The municipal spokesperson, Mercedes Celeste, called for not encouraging residents to remain inside the building and has described some of the protests as "irresponsible."

Palma's old prison, closed in 1999, has become over the years a settlement where hundreds of people live. The situation has been linked to the housing crisis and the lack of residential alternatives, in a space that has also been the subject of neighborhood protest and political debate in recent months.