Jaime Martínez: "Palma doesn't have a tourism model problem: there are 50,000 beds and 500,000 inhabitants."

PalmJaime Martínez has already spent more than two years as mayor of Palma, a city he knows is becoming increasingly complex, even to manage. But he seems comfortable, or at least he's an experienced politician who knows how not to let on.

Halfway through your term, what would you say have been two major successes and two major mistakes or failures?

— The two major successes are clear: on the one hand, consolidating the city project we had from the beginning. This has been possible thanks to the stability of the government, which, despite being in the minority, has proven to be stable. On the other hand, the achievement of historical demands, such as the Gesa building, Son Quint, the Son Ferriol secondary school, the Son Gibert and Son Dameto schools, and the Metropolitan cinema. All of this strengthens the city project. And I wouldn't be talking about mistakes and failures, but rather about pending issues. There is housing, policies that aren't for today or tomorrow. It's a challenge we face for the remaining two years. Another is consolidating the basic public services that Palma deserves: security, cleanliness, and transportation.

Do you think it's realistic to say that you've consolidated a city project in just two years?

— Yes, because from the beginning, we had three clear cross-cutting axes for Palma: culture, sports, and the environment. In two years, much more has been achieved than before. Regarding the environment, in addition to acquiring Son Quint, we are committed to making Palma greener, with more shade and green lungs. In culture, a giant step has been taken in artistic programming, exhibition spaces, and other arts. And we have future projects such as the restoration of Gesa (the city of Gesa) or Palma's candidacy as European Capital of Culture in 2031. All of this aims to create a socially and territorially cohesive city.

When you feel like you're being called 'the promoter mayor,' how do you experience it?

— As an advantage. I've been an architect for 25 years, I have a life outside of politics, and a professional reputation that supports many of the decisions we make. The opposition lacks arguments to criticize our policies and resorts to personal disqualifications. For them, being a promoter is a disqualification. And I say yes, we are a promoter team: promoters of culture, sports, public services, housing... If they want to criticize us for working, go ahead.

Do you really think building more homes will help curb housing prices?

— It can be part of the solution. The housing problem isn't just ours, it's European. And the cities that took action have fewer problems than Palma. We must remember that Palma has been growing in population for 20 years without any housing being built. We've gone from 350,000 to almost 500,000 inhabitants, but with policies that have prevented construction: prohibitions and land disqualifications. Now we'll build free, social housing at limited prices. This should yield results, but it won't happen tomorrow.

Aren't you worried that privately developed housing, which will account for half of the total, will end up in the hands of foreigners or people with a lot of purchasing power, as has happened in Nou Llevant?

— Nuevo Levante is a good example of what shouldn't be done: a thousand luxury homes and no oversight. This is what left-wing governments have allowed for the past eight years. The proposal put forward by the Catalan government, which the City Council adopts as its own, is different: there will be free housing, yes, but also limited prices and social housing. Furthermore, this requires conditions such as having resided in Palma for five years, which is what we have now, and we are considering extending it to more years.

How many years?

— I don't know yet, it needs to be studied.

But the limited-price apartments will be 300,000 euros. Do you think someone who couldn't find a place to live in Palma can afford this much?

— Perhaps the limited price of €300,000 seems high, but in the current market, it's a reasonable price. And this must be complemented by other measures, such as trying to get all vacant and closed-down housing into the rental market. That's why we need the involvement of all public authorities. Legal security is needed to encourage owners to rent out their apartments. Laws such as employment, urban leasing, horizontal property... All these laws must be passed in Madrid. A state neighborhood regeneration plan is also necessary, because some have already reached the end of their useful life, as is the case in many European cities that are completely renovating them.

Doesn't building on rural land through Transition Areas contradict the sustainability discourse you wish to maintain?

— If done properly, no. Transition areas are an urban planning tool approved more than 20 years ago by the Pact. The previous left-wing government could have eliminated them, but it didn't. Now we have the opportunity to apply them rigorously, transparently, and with restrictive criteria. Palma grows every year with 5,000 new registered residents. We can't say "no" to every solution.

If more is built, won't more people come?

— What's clear is that nothing has been built in the last 20 years, yet more than 120,000 people have come. And another 5,000 arrive each year. We must put things in order and plan. Our children and grandchildren have the right to housing in Palma. Their future depends on it.

Home purchases by foreigners could be restricted if Palma is declared a high-pressure area.

— This is a PSOE measure that has been implemented in Barcelona, and as far as we know, it doesn't work. And in cities like Inca and Manacor, where the left governs, it isn't applied either. The solution is to incentivize, not impose.

Is a city that grows in population, housing, and cars, but not in resources or services, sustainable?

— This is the great challenge we face: achieving territorial and social cohesion and achieving a city that is a 10 in mobility. Since Palma wasn't transforming as its population grew, we should now reverse it. What's more, we've encountered projects that go against the city's transformation. The renovation of the Paseo Marítimo not only doesn't solve problems, but actually exacerbates them: it has eliminated 1,400 parking spaces and lanes leading to and from the city. And yes, a city that's growing exponentially needs solutions for mobility, water, etc. These are challenges that are being addressed, but they take time.

Reports say Palma doesn't have enough drinking water to support the growth projected in the PGOU (General Urban Development Plan). Isn't it reckless to plan 12,000 more apartments when there's no water?

— Water sufficiency is one thing, and discussing the price of water is another. It also has water sufficiency. It's not about raising the water price, nor about manure collection, nor about any of the public services that the citizens of Palma have access to.

Will you build a new desalination plant to keep the price of water down?

— The Government has an infrastructure plan that includes investments in desalination plants. In addition, there is a historic project for a desalination plant linked to Playa de Palma. We will continue to support the development of another one that can meet all demand. The goal is to exploit the aquifers as little as possible. We are also working on projects that reduce the waste generated by desalination, such as chlorine and hydrogen, using sustainable technologies.

You've mentioned achieving mobility at 10 as a challenge, but your councilor has been criticized by all the other parties, including Vox. What's going wrong with Palma's mobility management?

— I think Palma's mobility is improving.

How does it improve? You need to be aware of the traffic jams.

— Traffic jams are linked to demographic policies. We're back to the 5,000 new inhabitants each year, and no infrastructure has been built.

And what about public transport?

— Public transportation is free for everyone by decision of Madrid, which has increased the number of users from 40 to 60 million in two years.

This is positive, isn't it?

— This is positive, but it hasn't reduced the number of cars in the city. Furthermore, the City Council has had to undertake a significant financial effort to manage demand. We will continue to demand that Madrid pay us the full amount of free service, which it hasn't.

Palma is becoming increasingly touristy. What limits does your government set?

— Palma is a city of 500,000 inhabitants and 50,000 tourist beds. Therefore, in reality, Palma doesn't have a tourism model problem. The fact is that Mallorca's 400,000 beds end up in Palma so tourists can visit the city. I'm not in favor of setting borders. We must structure the city differently. My goal is to try to reduce overcrowding in the center of Palma and ensure other areas also have facilities from which everything can be organized. And to maintain demographic and tourist control to regulate current and future flows and plan accordingly. And then, there's something extremely important...

Which?

— When talking about policies for the emptying Spain, we mustn't forget the filling Spain, which includes the large coastal cities and territories as small as the Balearic and Canary Islands, which host 40% of the 95 million travelers who arrive in Spain. We must be compensated with funding for the 50 years we've been under this pressure.

What will you do with the 15,000 illegal tourist rental spaces you admit to having?

— We signed an agreement with the Council, which will provide two inspectors.

Two? Don't you find it a laugh?

— Okay, but let's start somewhere. Furthermore, with the Consell, the Local Police, and Urban Planning, we will identify the areas where there are more of them and launch campaigns against illegal tourist rentals and to encourage long-term rentals.

You said Palma wasn't nominated for European Capital of Culture in 2031 to boost tourism, but the launch campaign is aimed at visitors and has all the hallmarks of a tourism promotion.

— I wouldn't say it's a campaign geared toward tourism, but it is geared toward Europe. In any case, I'm convinced that culture can help transform the tourism model. It should serve us in that direction.

Create a program of major exhibitions featuring internationally recognized artists. Don't forget local creators and work on grassroots culture.

— We've reached a level where we're a reference point abroad. And that's a good thing. We've also opened an exhibition space in Cort that didn't exist before, and in just a few months, four or five local artists have exhibited.

And don't you think that, had it been offered, any of these local artists would have preferred to exhibit at Solleric or the Lonja rather than in a corridor of the Town Hall?

— In Solleric, I'd say there have also been more exhibitions of local artists in these two years than in the previous eight. We have very good management, a very good team, not only in the visual arts but also in the performing arts. The municipal theaters are experiencing a surplus for the first time, with tickets sold out for almost every performance.

Rels B has created Palma's first ambassador. What kind of ambassadors do you want for the city?

— Well, in the coming months, you'll see us appoint other ambassadors. This designation refers to those who have come to Palma to contribute or who have gone from Palma to export values. It's important to explain that Palma is above all what isn't seen abroad. Rels B, Dani Heredia Vidal, is an example of overcoming difficulties, perseverance, looking beyond, and leaving Son Gotleu, an environment that surely gives you few opportunities to achieve them all.

He governs in a minority and depends on Vox for the budget. What have you given up in the last two years to avoid a crisis?

— Governing in a minority is a challenge, and Vox is the only party that has been willing to reach agreements; the others are just trying to dynamite everything. And so far, I haven't given up on anything and have been able to push our program forward. Of course, I've certainly done more surgery and dissected certain things.

In a city with far more empty apartments owned by investment funds than occupied ones, is the anti-employment office a concession to Vox or a marketing campaign, rather than a measure with real impact?

— Originally, it's a housing information office. Later, we can name it anti-employment, evictions, tourist rentals... and all of these are concerns for citizens.