Fulgencio Coll: "I won't support the mayor's decision to build rural land if urban land isn't utilized in Palma."

PalmVox spokesperson in Palma, Fulgencio Coll, distanced himself from his party when he refused to release urban land in Transition Areas in Palma until all the consolidated urban land was utilized. This position was followed by his dismissal from the provincial executive, although he denies that this was the reason for his estrangement from the party leadership. Be that as it may, the Coll's refusal has strained the PPParaphrasing former US President Richard Nixon, the military official advocates for "looking at what's happening in the world with both eyes, and not just with the left."

What are relations like between the PP and Vox in Palma?

— We're trying to ensure compliance with the programmatic agreement. It's a bit difficult, but this is the important thing. Our priorities are security, cleanliness, homelessness, and mobility. We've managed to double the allocation for materials for the Local Police, and also to bring in 135 officers instead of 90. We've implemented a serious investment plan for mobility. What we're most critical of is housing. It hasn't been agile. It's a problem exacerbated by the mismanagement of the last eight years by the so-called progressives, separatists, who have done very little and very poorly.

And what about the mayor, Jaime Martínez?

— Relations are cordial and very frequent.

How have you seen the internal crisis within Vox in Parliament from Palma?

— We don't like what happened. That's just politics. Now there are five deputies in the group, the budget has been approved, and the situation has improved.

What did you think of Idoia Ribas's departure from the parliamentary group?

— He adopted a position I don't share. When a person disagrees with a party, what they should do is hand in their resignation, leave, and begin a new path, something they haven't done. That said, with the five deputies we have, we provide stability, and I hope we reach 2027 in good shape. There are slight disagreements with the People's Party, for example on the issue of language, but the situation is hopeful.

To what do you attribute the executive reshuffle with your departure? The new leader of Vox Baleares, Gabriel Le Senne, spoke of internal tensions.

— It's not a problem of tensions, but of party discipline. These tensions have been seen; they are undesirable, especially if they are made public, as has been seen in Parliament in certain behaviors, which have not been the best. I'm glad there's stability now. Gabriel Le Senne has my support. He has the right to choose his team. He doesn't have to justify his reasons. I wish him good work. I will concentrate on my work at City Hall.

But did Le Senne give you any explanation for why he was letting you go to the executive?

— A few days earlier, Gabriel had been kind enough to call me. He didn't tell me exactly what he would do, but I more or less sensed the decision he would make. That's how politics is. I'm in politics without pay. I joined for several reasons. The first is that I didn't want the islands to follow the path of Catalan separatism. In this regard, I believe the seven years I sacrificed from my family and free time for a political goal was worth it. What we must do now is defend our programs. We're trying to do that at City Hall: lower taxes, increase mobility, improve cleanliness, and make the police presence noticeable.

You're known for defending military discipline. Haven't you been disappointed by Vox's performance in recent years?

— In my experience, there must be hierarchy, discipline, loyalty, dedication, and sacrifice. The same thing has happened to Vox as to other parties. It's young, with very strong growth. This must then be structured and recovered. There have been undesirable situations in Parliament. What we want is to regain stability and do what our platform says, which is simple: we demand the unity of Spain, support for concepts like the family, not lose our traditions, and regulate immigration. These unaccompanied migrant minors should be in their countries with their families, not here, with a difficult adaptation and enormous expense that we don't allocate to ordinary citizens. We want Europe, but a Europe of nations, and a European bureaucracy that doesn't hurt us. We are not in favor of the globalization that harms us. The 2030 Agenda is detrimental to our economy. We have a cordon sanitaire. Why? To defend the unity of Spain, its values, and traditions? For having a discourse that now turns out young people are listening to, because they realize that the famous progressivism has been a bit of a fraud. They've promised them things... They've taken away their ability, their merit, their sacrifice, their effort. Daddy State won't give us everything we want. This has been irresponsible. There's a debate here: you are gender, you are woke, you are a Kamala Harris fan, a Ursula von der Leyen fan, or you are one of those people who believe in effort, and that no one gives anything away.

Do you think some young people sympathize with Vox because of the failure of the left?

— I think so. Exactly. I haven't had any problems with the left, the good one, which unfortunately, nowadays... Where is it? I got along very well with people from the Socialist and Communist parties years ago. From time to time, you'd find people with a sense of state. I never had any problems with them. I've had problems with those who put ideology first without experience or merit, preaching things that are childish and don't go to the bottom line. Today, young people are disenchanted, and I, like so many others, with a man named Pedro Sánchez. Neither he nor José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero have anything to do with the PSOE we knew in the 1980s with Felipe González, Fèlix Pons, and Joan Mesquida.

You mentioned the issue of housing. You disagreed with your party regarding the Land Acquisition Law. This law was promoted by Palma with the goal of unlocking 20,000 homes, but then, at the urging of Vox in the Parliament, expanded housing construction on rural land located in Transition Areas. Vox Palma has said that urban land must be exhausted first.

— I've been at City Hall for six years asking for the issue to be resolved. Mr. José Hila ignored me. It's a monstrosity that educated young people have to leave for Spain or Europe because they can't live here. In my proposals, I've always asked for the same thing: more land must be made available for construction. Palma needs 27,000 homes. But I say something else: we never asked for Transition Areas here. This was raised in Parliament, not here. The mayor made a great effort to unblock development land. Then these areas were added. What does Fulgencio Coll, the Vox municipal group, say? No. There is consolidated urban land here, which can't be properly utilized due to absurd and outdated rates. I've said that I won't support the mayor's proposal for Transition Areas in Palma if the consolidated urban land isn't properly utilized. It's absurd! Imagine there's an eight-story building, a ten-story building, and a plot of land. Current regulations only allow six homes to be built on this plot. Listen to me, nobody will want to build. But if you allow the construction of as many floors as the shortest building next door, 3,500 homes would be created in Palma.

Has your position on this issue created tensions with your party?

— They said to me, "Hey, what are you doing?" And I explained.

Do you attribute your removal from the executive to this opinion?

— No, no, no.

What do you think about the appointment of Manuel Pavón as the new Director General of Immigration?

— I don't know him. The fact that he comes from the police is good; he has experience. I wish him the best of luck. Immigration should be regulated. They shouldn't be brought here; they should be sent to their countries of origin so they don't have to leave.