We defend the land, we save the collective future
The Balearic Islands have doubled their population in just forty years, an accelerated and sustained growth that is unprecedented. A phenomenon that, according to experts, is neither the result of a natural, inevitable, nor neutral process. As various entities and organizations, including Obra Cultural Balear (Balearic Cultural Project), have denounced, it is a planned demographic collapse actively promoted by economic interests that view the territory as a commodity and society as a labor force to be exploited. A collapse resulting from an economic model based on the plundering of the territory, the unlimited expansion of tourism, and the massive construction of housing to fuel speculation.
With the new urban planning law agreed upon by the Popular Party and the far right, this model is reaching unacceptable limits; a law that will allow the creation of one million new residential spaces in the Balearic Islands: one million! And they want to do so through a legal change that automatically grants building rights, as has already been expressed by the political opposition and environmental organizations, without any territorial, social, resource, or service planning. This law is a direct threat to our collective future, and the result could be a social, environmental, and cultural crisis of historic proportions. We are facing the most significant change in the territorial model in recent decades; a change that will represent a true demographic bomb, which will skyrocket the population, increase pressure on natural resources, cause greater social segregation, make access to decent housing even more difficult, and exacerbate the process of linguistic and cultural substitution.
The PP and Vox law is an irresponsible and reckless gamble that mortgages the future of our islands, represents a complete break with any idea of sustainability, and discredits any political discourse that uses this term. Where is the objective of the Roundtable for the Pact for the Economic, Social and Environmental Sustainability of the Balearic Islands, when this law is based on a devastating premise: to generate building rights automatically and generally, without any analysis of the social, environmental, or cultural consequences?
It is more than evident that the processing of this law does not respond to any objective need of the resident population; it does not seek to solve the extremely serious housing problem facing the Balearic Islands; it only responds to the political will to defend the interests of a minority that wants to continue doing business at the expense of collective well-being.
As a people who love Mallorca, we have a duty to defend the territory, social cohesion, and the continuity of our own language and culture. Therefore, from the Balearic Cultural Work, we join the call of the GOB and the Federation of Neighborhood Associations of Palma and call on all citizens to participate in the demonstration on Monday, the 7th, in front of the Parliament of the Balearic Islands. If you love this land, come say enough!
