Thousands of people gathered this Wednesday at the Plaça de Cort in Palma in an event called by the mayor of Palma, Jaime Martínez, in solidarity with Ceuta. The event, which took place at the Plaça de Cort coinciding with Ceuta Day, turned into a cry against the Spanish government with "Pedro Sánchez, son of a bitch" (in Spanish) and "Pedro Sánchez, resignation" as leitmotifs. Among the attendees, constant shouts and insults were heard against the head of the Spanish executive, while numerous participants displayed Spanish flags, some of them Francoist. The demonstration began at 8 p.m. and was called within the framework of the mobilizations in support of Ceuta held throughout the State. According to the Local Police figures, 19,000 people participated, while the National Police point out that there were 8,000.

"Zero contact", as summarized by a member of Menys Turisme, Més Vida, the interactions with the Spanish government delegate, Alfonso Rodríguez, after thepolice charges of 26-J, the most important anti-saturation demonstration day in the Balearic Islands. Rodríguez has not contacted the organizers or the injured, despite having called a press conference the day after the protest to criticize the "disproportionate" actions of the National Police and announce that he had commissioned urgent reports to "determine responsibilities". "The images we have seen cause us concern. I have asked for explanations from the head of the National Police [José Antonio Puebla]. Violent actions were carried out by some members of the police force against people who posed no threat. I regret what has happened and convey my consternation," he said on July 27.

Madita Wuiz has started over at 43 thanks to tattoos. She would never have imagined that her life would turn upside down due to an illness, nor that she would end up “finding beauty” in everything that has happened to her. Four years ago, her son Lleó was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. He was only ten months old and, since then, the family has been on a journey with one goal: for Lleó to be happy. Madita, her husband, Antonio, and their other two children, Álvaro, 21, and Nerea, 14, know that the best way to achieve this is for them to also be happy, despite the setbacks and painful moments.

The tourist train continues at full steam in the Balearic Islands, despite citizen protests and political promises and laments. There isn't a year that the Islands don't break records since the pandemic ended, and the data suggests this year will be no exception. This Tuesday, Ibestat released the tourist data up to July: 11,189,324 people, 1.77% more than in the same period last year (from January to July 2025 there were approximately 10,995,000 tourists).

The Balearic Islands are nearing the end of a summer that, thanks to climate change, is more of a thermal penance than a period of leisurely pleasure. Curiously, the last summer of the legislative term has served for the PP to close the circle: Marga Prohens the term began with massive protests against saturation, and it ends the same way. However, there is a difference, because in the summer of 2023 the police did not assault the protesters. The island society continues to await the report commissioned by the Spanish government delegate, Alfonso Rodriguez, who assured that he had given instructions to remain calm. Better not to think what would have happened if he hadn't given them.

The institutions of the Balearic Islands have acknowledged the impact of tourist saturation on citizens. However, the remedies to alleviate its effects are diverse, while the Islands are on track to reach 20 million visitors this 2026. In the case of the Palma City Council, the Fundació Turisme Palma 365 is committed to "improving the perception" that residents of the city have of tourist activity, with a strategy whose objective is to work on the "pride of belonging" of the people of Palma to their city, in the words of the entity's manager, Pedro Homar.

Although Palma has witnessed the most important anti-saturation protest in the Balearic Islands this summer, Cort is determined to attract more tourists from the United States and plans to carry out two major promotional actions in the North American country. The Palma 365 Tourism Foundation has awarded a contract worth 217,800 euros (including VAT) to the company Corporacion Comunicacion Iberoamericana Barcelo y Asoc. S.L. to carry out the "planning, organization, production and execution of a tourism promotion program aimed at travel agents specialized in high-value tourism from the North American market", according to the justification report of the tender available on the Public Sector Procurement Platform.

This never-ending summer has been a time of laments and litanies. We are more saturated than ever and have protested more than ever. But the gatherings, the demonstrations, the al fresco dinners, and the demands have only served to confirm the abyss between the street and the offices of those who decide about our lives, a gap that began to open legislatures ago and has now reached grandiose dimensions. This is not the land of brave politicians and those who truly command do not usually run in elections.

“The perception of the citizens of the Balearic Islands towards tourism is improving. Nine tenths in one year and it achieves a score of five out of ten”. This is the news that IB3, the public television of the Balearic Islands, broadcast on August 13, two weeks after 70,000 people demonstrated in Palma against tourist saturation, and only days after the protest in Sóller on August 8. The source that allowed this conclusion to be reached is a barometer from a consultancy called LLYC, specialized in “communication, reputation management, public affairs and digital marketing”, according to the company on its website.

Three weeks, this is the time that has passed since GOB requested a meeting with the President of the Government, Marga Prohens, and the President of the Council of Mallorca, Llorenç Galmés, to know if they are willing to listen to the outcry of the 70,000 people who, according to the organizers' figures, demonstrated in Palma on July 26th against the perverse effects of saturation and touristification on the lives of residents. The meeting was requested just one day later, on July 27th, but the Executive has ignored the environmental organization's request. "We have not received a single response," assure GOB sources.

A couple of young people are about to cross the street in Plaça d'Espanya. They are not going to watch the eclipse. "We're leaving for home. We're scared to look at it," she says, while her boyfriend pulls her by the hand because the traffic light is about to turn red. She leaves without even explaining why she's scared. The sun is still shining brightly, but in the streets, you can tell it's not a normal day. For a moment, it seems like we've returned to the days of the pandemic: there are hardly any cars, you see closed shops, and traffic is much lower compared to any summer day.

The Government presented its package of measures to contain tourist saturation on March 7, 2025. Among the announced initiatives were the increase of the Sustainable Tourism Tax (ITS) during the high season and the creation of a tax on rental vehicles. A few months earlier, in the general policy debate, President Marga Prohens had also announced an increase in the water levy for large consumers. None of these initiatives have materialized. The limitation of vehicle entry to Mallorca, one of the bets of the President of the Council, Llorenç Galmés, is still pending parliamentary processing.

Around 2,500 people (according to organizers, 1,000 people according to the Spanish government delegation) demonstrated this Saturday in Sóller along a route that began in Plaça dels Estiradors, passed through Carrer de la Lluna, and culminated in Plaça de la Constitució. After the demonstration on July 26 in Palma, Sóller, a symbol of tourist overcrowding, was the next stage of citizen mobilization.

"Whoever goes to the beach in Formentera and wants to rent a sun lounger, doesn't have one." This is how the Vice President and Government Spokesperson, Antoni Costa, spoke about the situation on the island regarding the concession of sun loungers and umbrellas, which has led to the dismissal of the already former Director General of Coasts, Maria Joaquina Ferrer, this Friday after the Government Council meeting. The origin of this conflict dates back to May, when a resolution from the Directorate General of Coasts for temporary facilities for 2026-2029 denied authorization for 681 sun loungers and 339 umbrellas, provoking criticism from the Formentera Council towards the Government (Coasts did authorize 1,169 sun loungers and 589 umbrellas). The Vice President commented that this situation "had not occurred in Formentera in previous years" and stressed that "it has a very significant impact on public interest." "Whoever goes to the beach in Formentera and wants to rent a sun lounger, doesn't have one," he lamented.

The Ministry of Defence has confirmed to the Government that the Spanish army will be deployed in the Balearic Islands on the day of the eclipse and will form part of the security device that has been planned to control the influx of people. The Vice-President and spokesperson for the Executive, Antoni Costa, announced this Friday after the meeting of the Governing Council. However, he also acknowledged that the Executive has no estimate of the influx of people. "It is evident that it would be very considerable if there were no kind of restriction," he said without providing any approximate figure.

It has not been four months since the Government expressed its "pride and satisfaction" for the conduct of the Director General of Coasts, Maria Joaquina Ferrer, who reported an attempted bribery by a businessman from Mallorca. But the Executive has shifted from public recognition to the dismissal of Ferrer, who has not yet completed a year in office and who will now return to her position as a civil servant of the CAIB. The dismissal will be effective this Friday in the Governing Council.

The Minister of Tourism, Jaume Bauzà, referred this Wednesday to the complaint from GOB and Terraferida, who requested a meeting with the President of the Government, Marga Prohens, on July 27 and have not yet received any response. "Agendas are complicated," he pointed out at an event at the Can Sales library, in addition to stating that the entities will be attended to at some point, as reported by Europa Press.