The Trenc, the image of a society on guard

Citizen mobilization in defense of Trenc is more than a protest for an emblematic natural space. It is the image of a society that is on guard. The slogan that is resonating again these days, ‘Neither before, nor now, nor ever. Trenc must not be touched’, is also a preventive warning against any indication that could put at risk a collective heritage that the people of Mallorca have had to defend time and again over the last few decades.

In the interview published by ARA Balears, the president of the Government, Marga Prohens, states that her Executive is not touching the Trenc Natural Park. And this is so, if we strictly adhere to the present facts. But it is also true that the Omnibus Law lowers the requirements for the Administration to intervene in protected areas. That is to say, it does not modify the park's boundaries today, but it prepares a more permissive regulatory framework to be able to do so. And it is this possibility that has set off all alarms.

The citizen reaction is not the result of paranoia or exaggeration, but of memory. People remember, among other facts, that a PP government, chaired by Jaume Matas, reduced to the minimum expression the Llevant Natural Park that the first Progressive Pact, chaired by Francesc Antich, had created. When there is a history, technical gestures are not perceived as simple technical gestures.

In addition, the Omnibus Law arrives at a moment of maximum social tension. The president herself admits that the Islands suffer from saturation. Today, hardly anyone questions this diagnosis. Citizens coexist with tourist pressure that conditions daily life, with enormous difficulties in accessing decent housing and with a growing loss of quality of life and well-being. In this context, any decision that seems to weaken the protection of the territory is interpreted as a further step in the wrong direction.

The next July 26, a new large demonstration is called against tourist overcrowding and for the right to housing. This is the social climate that the Balearic Islands are experiencing. That is why, when the Government makes a move, even if it is only regulatory, an important part of society responds with immediate alert. Also, because it is difficult to identify equally decisive measures to strengthen the protection of the territory or to face the housing crisis, such as the declaration of tense areas.

El Trenc is today much more than a beach or a natural park. It is the symbol of a citizenry that has learned that the best way to protect what it loves is not to wait until it is too late. If governing also means generating confidence, it is not achieved only by ensuring that a protected area is not touched today, but by avoiding any reform that may feed doubt about its future.