The island of 12,000 inhabitants that gains influence: Formentera will have its own senator

PalmaStarting from the next elections, Formentera will have its own senator. The constitutional reform that has allowed this since April 23rd has been the latest milestone for a territory that has fewer than 12,000 inhabitants but has a growing influence on the institutional system. “It is important because it provides the possibility of having a person who specifically looks out for this island during the processing of numerous laws made in Madrid,” explains political analyst Toni Fornés.

The step prior to obtaining a senator was the creation of the Consell de Formentera in 2007. “This was the seed of the reform of the Constitution, because Article 69.3 already stated that where there was an island council, there should be a senator,” explains the technical secretary of the island institution, Àngel Navarro, who, as a jurist, was one of the initiators of the Council. “I was inspired by the system in Ceuta and Melilla,” he points out. The Consell de Formentera brings together regional competencies with island and also municipal ones. With the birth of the institution, “the legal and physical reality that allowed for the claim of a senator was already being established,” he notes.

In addition to the representation it has gained in recent decades, Formentera also has its own deputy in the Parliament who, in certain votes, can be key. “In the regional history of the Balearic Islands, Formentera operates within a paradox, which is that it benefits from the Balearic Islands being built as an archipelago, giving it regional weight, but at the same time it is politically organized as a municipality, and this shapes the political vision of its representative,” explains Fornés. Obtaining Formentera's deputy is one of the objectives that the PP and PSIB set for themselves each electoral campaign, because it is “very cheap,” as it depends on few votes: “It requires fewer people than the number of inhabitants in a large street in Palma,” explains the analyst.

Key in vehicle limitation

The weight of the deputy for Formentera is especially noticeable in issues affecting their mobility, explains the expert. "It has been important to promote the restriction of vehicle entry to the Islands," he states: "This is the great strong point of islander parties that are not from Mallorca." In this legislature, the deputy for Formentera, Llorenç Córdoba – who entered Parliament representing Sa Unió per Formentera, although he was expelled from the party due to an internal crisis – has achieved investments and favorable measures for the island in the budget negotiations with the Government of Marga Prohens. He has also used the Parliament's platform to denounce the migratory crisis that particularly affects Formentera. Although he does not usually deviate from the Government's position, the deputy voted against the repeal of the historical memory law promoted by the PP and Vox.