The long shadow of the beautiful men

The Government of the Palma City Council, led by mayor Jaume Martínez, trusted that, over time, the impact caused on public opinion by the dawn felling, last December, of the 18 "bellaombres" (a type of tree) in Plaça de Llorenç Villalonga, in Dalt Murada, in the Calatrava neighborhood, would dissipate. It was an arbitrary decision, based on a supposed technical report that no one has ever seen, carried out in secret and treachery (the brigade was sent at dawn, when it was still dark, to cut down the trees) and which had strong citizen opposition: the neighborhood residents wanted the trees to remain where they were. However, it happened that those trees "got in the way" of certain hospitality and hotel establishments in the area, and also of some owners of those kinds of apartments that are sold for millions of euros (they are not worth it to them). The shade of the "bellaombres" prevented the sun from entering the luxury apartments' windows with the abundance their owners wanted, or they blocked the view so that the clients of hoteliers and restaurateurs could take the photos they liked to post on Instagram. Consequently, the trees were sacrificed without any regard for their historical, environmental, and landscape value. In any case and without looking too closely, as the local right-wing has traditionally done things, and even more so in these dark times, when the PP goes directly hand in hand with the fascists of Vox.Time, however, has not erased the memory of that commitment: the residents of La Calatrava remain organized and active after the contempt they were subjected to by those who are supposed to be their representatives. In the last Carnival parade in Palma, the Ciutat Verda (Green City) float (which called for a Palma with trees and put on a parade that was as spectacular as it was applauded and photographed) received unfavorable treatment from the municipal organization, which went so far as to not include any images of the float in the official photo album. Otherwise, the City Council knows it is in the wrong and proves it by announcing all sorts of compensatory actions for the tree felling, which then also lead nowhere or are met with public rejection. In particular, the proposal to replant Llorenç Villalonga square has earned the unanimous rejection of both neighborhood and environmental organizations, given the disregard the City Council has shown for many of their proposals and suggestions.The unenlightened history of the bellaombres well exemplifies the authoritarianism and the patrimonial idea of public institutions held by the PP and Vox, which this week has once again become apparent in the umpteenth episode regarding the Feixina: they have given maximum municipal protection to the fascist monument (which commemorates the participation of the ship ‘Baleares’ in the bloody Desbandá, a massacre of civilians perpetrated in Malaga by those who rose up against the Republic) against the criterion of the Spanish government, which has included it in the state catalog of symbols contrary to democratic memory, which implies its elimination. However, our rulers dislike ancient trees and, on the contrary, like fascist monuments that celebrate war crimes. It is to be assumed that they enjoy themselves in this way, exercising their responsibilities, because, in addition to real wars, they also love what they absurdly call “cultural wars”, which only consist of promoting denialism and social hatred. Let them have their fun, but let them also be aware that governing in this way is necessarily doomed to failure.