When Israel and the US began the Iran war, last February 28, the whole world shuddered, but in Mallorca the shiver had a particular tone: “Will this affect the tourist season?”, was the question that the businessmen of the tourist sector and their servants, also known as elected rulers, were anxiously asking themselves. And many ordinary citizens, pure and simple taxpayers, were asking themselves the same question, because they have internalized an ancestral fear similar to that of the small Gallic village in the Asterix comics. Indeed, if those warriors of the Gallic forests lived in fear that one day the sky would not fall on their heads, many Majorcans today anxiously think about the possibility that one day tourists will stop coming. They have assimilated the idea that tourism is their source of sustenance (“tourism feeds us,” they repeat, like a responsorial psalm) and that dedicating themselves to economic activities other than tourism is equivalent to a return to a life of scarcity and deprivation. (Due to age, most have not experienced scarcity or deprivation, but within the repertoire of prejudices they have incorporated, it also includes intense aporophobia).Since then, the Iran war has continued its course, becoming more uncertain and alarming each day, and yet, tourists have come. With Easter, the tourist season properly begins: this year we can say, therefore, that the season runs from March 31 to October 31. That's seven full months, in contrast to the three months that the traditional summer season lasted (which was limited to the two strict months during which people usually took vacations, July and August, with the addition of the second fortnight of June to open and the first of September to close). Now it lasts more than double, and the long-standing objective is to make the tourist season last twelve months. Indeed, before we learned to say ‘de-seasonalization’’ without stumbling, reality has made it clear that it was a mirage: we will not manage to distribute tourists better across the different seasons of the year, in order to avoid overcrowding, but rather we will have overcrowding all year round. De-seasonalization was another self-deception (in this case, of progressive origin) on par with ‘cultural tourism’: by promoting this, we have not obtained tourists who come to participate in our reading clubs and buy season tickets for the Principal Theatre and the Manacor Auditorium, but rather tourists who visit prefabricated exhibitions, susceptible of being set up and visited in interchangeable destinations: be it Malaga (the model to be followed by our current rulers) or Palma, for buyers of the holiday package for lovers of cultural and gastronomic experiences.When Iran began to fire its long-range missiles, a local media outlet published a report trying to warn that these rockets have enough power for one of them to fall on Mallorca. And much worse, it could fall in the middle of the tourist season. There is a not very subtle (but well-rooted form of self-hatred), which consists of believing that we are too small to be affected by what happens in the world, or that our lamentable condition as a mature tourist destination makes us sweet and harmless. Neither is true: Mallorca, although a significant number of Majorcans find it hard to believe, is part of this convulsive, violent and unpredictable world that appears in the news. It is not only part of it, but it is a strategic point in the middle of the Mediterranean. And its tourist season is too.

The Government has approved this Friday the decree-law to allocate 160.75 million euros to alleviate the economic effects that the war in Iran has on the Balearic Islands. A measure that complements those that the Spanish government has already approved and which will represent 70 million euros more for the Islands. From tax deductions for mortgage holders to subsidies for affected sectors, the first vice-president and Minister of Economy, Antoni Costa, has explained how these resources will be allocated.

The government will approve a decree-law before Easter with tax cuts and direct aid to sectors affected by price increases resulting from the war in Iran, including deductions for variable-rate mortgages. These measures will complement thesocial safety net announced by the Spanish government last FridayThese measures include VAT reductions on fuel and an extension of rental contracts. The government wants to implement them with the approval of all parties, and for this reason, the First Vice President and Minister of Economy and Finance, Antoni Costa, has convened them this Wednesday.

The package of measures approved by the Spanish government to address the effects of the Iran-Contra conflict will have an impact of over 70 million euros on the Balearic Islands. This was confirmed on Monday in Palma by the Secretary of State for Tourism, Rosario Sánchez, after meeting with social and economic stakeholders. According to her, the set of measures—valued at 5 billion euros and comprising some eighty initiatives—will primarily benefit the Islands through tax reductions on electricity and subsidies of 20 cents per liter of fuel for industries such as transportation. Furthermore, the extension of the electricity and heating subsidies, as well as the extension of rental contracts for up to two years, are expected to benefit approximately 24,000 homes in the archipelago. The Government Delegate in the Balearic Islands, Alfonso Rodríguez, has urged the regional government to approve additional measures to protect families and businesses "as soon as possible." He also called for the support of the People's Party (PP) and Vox in Congress to validate the anti-crisis decrees, which include both tax breaks and a temporary freeze on rents.

Two weeks after the start of the war between Israel and the United States (US) against Iran, The ending is uncertainAlthough the government continues to advocate for a swift resolution to the conflict, this week it began a series of meetings with sectors that could be most affected by the price increases accompanying the war. There is still insufficient official data to estimate the magnitude of the impact. However, currently, everything points to a fuel price increase that is having a ripple effect on multiple sectors: from transportation (exacerbated by the island's isolation) to the cost of groceries, as well as agriculture, travel, and mobility.

The general secretary of the CCOO union, Unai Sordo, expressed his opposition to a "general" tax cut due to the war in Iran and the Middle East, but stated that he will demand limits on energy prices or measures to protect employment and economic activity, if necessary. The union leader indicated that this will be the position CCOO will defend at the meeting it will hold this Thursday with representatives of the Spanish government and other unions to assess possible actions regarding the effects of the conflict.

Mojtaba Khamenei, son of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and identified as new head of the Islamic Republic of IranHe reportedly owns a luxury resort in Camp de Mar, Mallorca. This is according to an investigation by Bloomberg, quoted by the newspaper The CountryThe report suggests the property in question is the Steigenberger Hotel & Resort Camp de Mar, and that the assets of Iran's new Supreme Leader extend across several European countries. According to this investigation, Khamenei amassed a fortune of hundreds of millions of euros through a network of investments and real estate holdings managed by intermediaries. These assets reportedly include a golf resort in Mallorca, a hotel in the Austrian Alps, and numerous properties in London.

We've been told about World War III so many times that when it finally arrives, we won't believe it. Just as we never imagined a politician like Donald Trump could exist, an egomaniac who has undermined the role of a leader in a democratic state, decency, and any sense of the ridiculous. Having become a caricature and a mirror for far-right populists, he threatens the world order, driven by his megalomania. If you stir up hornets' nests in Ukraine, Venezuela, Gaza, Greenland, and Iran, sooner or later one of them will sting us all.

Hundreds of people gathered this Friday in Palma's Plaza de las Tortugas to express their rejection of the war in the Middle East and other conflicts such as those in Palestine and Ukraine.

The PIMEM transport association, Astam, has publicly denounced what it calls "the abuse" perpetrated by major oil companies in the wake of the conflict in Iran. According to a press release, the association stated that transporters have detected an increase of up to 15 cents per liter in the reference price of professional diesel, which they consider a "completely unjustified" price hike based on speculative practices under the pretext of the conflict in Iran. The association's president, Jeroni Valcaneras, emphasized that the fuel currently being supplied was purchased before the start of the attacks, and therefore "the immediate transfer of costs lacks any economic basis." Given this situation, the PIMEM association has called on the Spanish government to urgently implement a contingency plan that revives the spirit of the measures approved in 2022 in response to the war in Ukraine. Valcaneras pointed out that, at that time, the State implemented direct subsidies of up to 20 cents per liter of fuel, direct aid per vehicle to offset operating costs, and strengthened the law to prohibit working below cost, as well as the clause for updating expenses. Both PIMEM and Astam remind all companies and self-employed workers in the sector of the need to rigorously apply the clause for reviewing transport tariffs due to fuel price fluctuations. "This measure, which is legally mandated, is the primary defense mechanism to automatically pass on these increases and guarantee the viability of the business," he concluded.