In the Balearic Islands, the coastal space not only constitutes an environmental heritage of the highest order, but is also a structural pillar of the Archipelago's economy and identity. Coastal ecosystems —beaches, dunes, salt flats, lagoons, cliffs, and posidonia meadows— function as interconnected and inseparable habitats, part of a harmonious whole. Their preservation is key to the good health of marine and terrestrial biodiversity and, moreover, represents a factor of excellence in the tourism model.From this point of view, the tendency to privatize or regulate in favor of commercial interests, as is the case with the new coastal law that the Government of the Balearic Islands intends, represents a direct threat to these strategic values. Continuing to bet on a coastline as a space for private exploitation implies displacing public interest and degrading the most valuable resource that sustains the Balearic economy: its natural environment. The coast should not be understood as a marketable good, but as a common, vital, and organic asset for citizens and also for visitors. In this order, brazenly, not the other way around. The Balearic Islands are a country and, incidentally, a tourist destination, we cannot fail to take this into account.The Government, with the new regulation, intends to save irregular buildings and economic activities within the public maritime-terrestrial domain. Bars, restaurants, and beach bars, which do not comply with the state coastal law, are intended to be included in the register of constructions that the autonomous regulation considers of “cultural interest”. An exceptionally justifiable point, only in cases of irrefutable heritage and ethnographic value, always for public and community use.By favoring concessions and lucrative uses in the public maritime-terrestrial domain, territorial cohesion is weakened and citizen trust in institutions is eroded. Preserving the coastline is not an economic obstacle, but an essential condition for maintaining the productive and social fabric of the Islands. Right now, safeguarding these systems is essential to curb erosion, mitigate the action of storms, and, ultimately, globally help to mitigate the effects of climate change. In a sea as threatened and stressed as the Balearic Sea, strengthening coastal protection and marine reserve figures is a necessary condition to curb biodiversity loss and maintain ecological balance in the long term.On the other hand, the new Balearic coastal law constitutes an evident act of institutional disloyalty, by prioritizing sectoral and private interests over the principles of environmental protection and common use of public space. The purpose of the transfer of powers from the State to the community that took place at the time was to promote homogeneous environmental policies (the community is competent in environmental matters), seek efficiency through proximity to the territory, and boost preservation. The defense of kiosks (and other buildings) located in the public maritime-terrestrial domain not only violates the original constitutional philosophy, on which the law should be based, but also opens the door to a covert privatization of coastal space.Engage in clientelism

All of this, from an institutional perspective, leads one to think that the current Government of the Balearic Islands cannot be trusted. Its behavior is far from exemplary: through a fabricated stratagem known as “local identity”, the Government takes advantage of the transfer of new powers to consolidate illegal activities and engage in clientelism. This perverse drift erodes trust and collaboration between administrations, weakens the sovereign authority of our country, and jeopardizes the legal balance between the general interest and private privileges. In an archipelago particularly vulnerable to climate change and tourist pressure, promoting exceptions that perpetuate coastal occupation is a grave error that compromises our credibility as an adult and modern society.Allow me to explore the poetic path in the face of the stubbornness of the eternally stubborn. I know I will neither soften them nor make them change; however, I believe in lyricism as a drop capable of piercing clay. I am drawn to the beauty of Sylvain Tesson's words in "La vida simple", when he sings of the vital need he feels to change his relationship with nature: “I want to put down roots, to become part of the earth after having been part of the wind”. To stop eroding, to abandon the habit of flying over places, at the rhythm of digital messages without music, and to curse the capital's slot machines, perhaps this will help us to be a little freer and richer. So free as to observe the vote in future elections, from a perspective more respectful of the country's sovereignty, collective well-being, and not with our heads bowed before the market.Possibly, the Government plays with the idyllic image of jetties where boats were kept, forming part of a unique landscape, and attractive piers, which have acquired public use because the former concessionaires have stopped paying. But, this is not the issue, the catalog of impacts is much broader; a lot of concrete and activities not permitted in expired concessions. Not much more can be expected. The Executive has long since aligned itself with radicals who traffic in people's dreams to feed the greed of merchants. They can be fought.

]]> 'Trump causes global chaos' could have been the headline. The president, one talk-show He is a radical, he prays in the Oval Office, but he acts as the high priest of Huitzilopochtli (the god of human sacrifice). He is the architect of a hell where reason and all moral and ethical principles burn. He prays and orders the missiles to be launched. The attack on Iran is not just a military action, but the work of a supreme narcissist who vomits on the ashes of diplomacy and international law. He has followers.

]]> The response of Spain's two major parties, then the UCD and PSOE, to the attempted coup of February 23, 1981, was the Organic Law for the Harmonization of the Autonomy Process (LOAPA) of June 1982. The Prime Minister at the time was Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo. The law's aim was to moderate and pacify the autonomy process, prioritize state regulations over regional ones, and close the fast track of Article 151 of the Constitution to non-historical regions, among other things. A year later, the Constitutional Court annulled 14 of the law's 38 articles and declared the principle of state supremacy unconstitutional.

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On the afternoon of February 18, 1976, in an apartment on Catalunya Street in Palma, the Socialist Party of the Balearic Islands was presented to the media. A light rain barely touched the pavement, while a group of police officers from the Political and Social Brigade lay in wait outside. Barely three months had passed since the dictator's death. A wide range of citizens with a firm and active commitment to anti-Francoism had participated in the creation of the new party: members of Bandera Roja (who came from the Communist Party of Spain, which they had joined a year earlier), the Popular Socialist Party, and other leftist organizations, all gathered around the idea. Finding an organizational model capable of uniting all these different tendencies and political families was no small matter. One attractive formula was that of the French Socialist Party, which encompassed a broad spectrum of the French left. The proposal didn't go as far as the French model, since some people with a "weak" track record under the dictatorship had been excluded or put on hold. The truth is that the PSI was an organization still in the process of formation, but the proposal was timely, necessary, and also inspiring. This initial enthusiasm would, in part, shape its future development.

]]> When the Law of Democratic Memory and Recognition was passed in 2018, we said it was a law that, in and of itself, justified an entire legislative term, because it gave voice to silence and dignity to the names erased from history. Today, as the far-right conglomerate has decided to begin its repeal, strangely, I feel no sadness for the victims, nor for their children or descendants. Their memory is already written in the invisible, on the walls that heard their footsteps. The seed has been planted and has germinated. I feel sorry for my country, which, under the siege of political violence and hatred, has forgotten that democracy is also a form of tenderness.

]]> It seems that Núñez Feijóo has decided to change his speechwriter. And the new scribe isn't mincing matters. The Galician leader isn't aiming for statesmanship, because plurinationality still rankles him, but rather for the main ideological leader of the Spanish far-right conglomerate. It's no different to talk about "identity essentialism" in relation to emigration than to say that "they've made us believe that democracy was better than prosperity." It's worth remembering that "identity essentialism" was the basis of the Holocaust and, now, it underlies the Palestinian genocide and violence against migrants; and prioritizing prosperity over democracy has been the main justification for what we might call the "Asian development model" in countries like China and Singapore, where economic growth is used as an argument to restrict political freedoms—models that serve as inspiration for Trump and the American tech oligarchs. She acts as a leader of order, but the most memorable snapshot is shared with a drug dealer.

]]> In the summer of 1890, Miquel dels Sants Oliver, in a series of articles entitled 'From the terrace', that were part of their 'Summer Pages' in the diary The AlmudainaHe wrote: "Perhaps we have a gold mine under our belt that we haven't tried to fully illuminate and uncover," referring to the beauty of Mallorca and the potential for turning the island into a tourist destination. The idea was absolutely groundbreaking, as it directly challenged the economic protectionism of the time, which tried, in vain, to salvage the remains of a crumbling empire that would finally collapse just eight years later.

]]> Using exact phrases, the heading of this article could be 'starting with the roof' or 'don't let reality spoil a good headline'. The roof and the headline are from above. Not for a moment do I intend to talk about rearmament, or about the high temperature of the rentrée This fall's politics, which foreshadow a bleak future. We'll also cover this summer's weather and other social issues, to see if we can scratch a snag.

]]> For some time now, the main European media outlets have been regularly reporting on the environmental and social situation in the Balearic Islands. Interest in what's happening in the archipelago has shifted from the tabloids to recognized influential publications and programs. Local public opinion and that published on the mainland are converging in the same direction. This development heralds a new and unusual scenario. The Catalan government's double standard—sustainability on the left, and urban development and expansion of public squares on the right—is being publicly called into question. Deceiving citizens and visitors at the same time is beyond the reach of the conservative government.

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There are those who understand contempt for formalities as the ultimate exercise of power; doing something, not because it's necessary, but simply for the pleasure of it being so. This attitude is possibly the expression of an uncontrollable authoritarian drive that transcends the eroticism of power to become exhibitionism. There is much of that in the government's handling of the Sustainable Tourism Tax, of hidden pleasure in the desecration exercised by nonbelievers.

]]> Carlos Garriga, vice president and director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, in 'La Contra' The Vanguard He said that "it's not Spaniards and their salaries who determine the cost of living, but tourists and visitors." The phrase is a good summary of a complex situation. Two practical exercises:

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The self-proclaimed pro-independence organization Arran posted a video on social media that has sparked controversy and mixed reactions. The video includes images of graffiti on the facade of the Ministry of Tourism, with the slogan "guilty of our misery," and the burning of photographs of the regional president and several business leaders.

]]> Following the negotiation of the collective bargaining agreement for the hospitality industry, absenteeism has come to the forefront. Employers placed it at the top of their list of concerns. Surely, for some, it is an important issue in itself, but it cannot be separated from a more general labor situation marked by labor shortages. Undoubtedly, without this prior circumstance, absenteeism would not be discussed with the intensity and urgency it presents. However, the problem is more complex than it appears at first glance and transcends the world of work.

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