City Council ultimatum to former prison residents: five days to vacate without housing alternative

PalmThe Palma City Council has given residents of the former jail 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 Councillor for Public Function, Llorenç Bauzà, the Governing Board has agreed to notify this deadline after dismissing 45 allegations filed against the eviction. In this regard, Bauzà 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. However, the spokesperson admitted that, if the process has to be resolved judicially, there is no estimated timeframe. "It is the judicial routes that must determine it," he concluded.

MÁS accuses Cort of "persecuting and marginalizing" residents

MÁS has accused the Palma City Council of "persecuting and marginalizing" the more than 200 people residing in the city's old jail, who as of Wednesday have a five-day period to voluntarily leave the property.

This was denounced by the eco-sovereign councilor Miquel Ángel Contreras after the municipal government team announced that the more than 45 allegations filed against the eviction have been dismissed.

In this regard, he remarked that after three years of the PP at the head of the City Council, the housing balance is "zero solutions and more expulsions." "Instead of creating public housing for those who need it most, they are being kicked out of jail," he stressed.

Despite being people who live "on the edge" and who should find "help, support, and alternatives" from the administrations, the Cort government team "only offers them persecution, marginalization, and despair."

Without housing alternatives

This deadline to leave the old prison 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 City Council admitted it had no housing alternatives for those affected, despite maintaining contact with organizations and administrations.

Parallel to 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 involving the Local Police have been recorded. 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 councilwoman for Podem in Cort, Lucía Muñoz, criticized the eviction and accused institutions of "criminalizing poverty." She also demanded that residents not be left "on the street without any alternative." Along the same lines, various organizations have called for demonstrations 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. 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.