2,000 people celebrate Mallorca Day and warn of growing neo-fascism

PalmAround 2,000 people marched through the streets of Palma on Tuesday in a demonstration organized by the December 31st Platform and other groups to mark Mallorca's National Day. The march began in the Born district and proceeded to Plaça del Tub, where participants read the official manifesto for the day.

The organizers emphasized that the Diada represents "the most dignified Mallorca, the Mallorca that cannot be bought and that works every day for a better and freer island," in the words of Tomeu Martí, spokesperson for the organization. He also expressed his gratitude for the collaboration of all the organizing entities and the activists who made this mobilization possible.

The organizers defended the date as a celebration deeply rooted in the island's tradition and collective memory, in the face of what they consider attempts to erase it from the official calendar. In this context, they denounced the presence of the Spanish far right in institutions and called for democratic mobilization to halt its initiatives. The central theme of the manifesto was, once again, the demand for the right to self-determination. The platform maintained that without this right there can be neither full freedom nor a true democracy, and directly challenged political representatives to take a stand in favor of Mallorca's future being freely decided by its inhabitants. In this regard, they linked the lack of sovereignty to structural problems such as access to housing, low wages, job insecurity, the emigration of young talent, and overtourism.

The closing speech in Palma's Plaça del Tubo also emphasized the need for a socially cohesive Mallorca, open to all who wish to live and work on the island, but with the capacity to decide its territorial boundaries and resources. This sovereignty, they stressed, is key both to guaranteeing quality public services and to developing social, health, and educational policies suited to the island's reality. Among the demands were calls for amnesty for those persecuted for political reasons, the release of political prisoners, and the return of exiles, as well as explicit support for specific cases such as that of the rapper Pablo Hasél. The platform also reiterated its rejection of the Spanish monarchy and the presence of military forces or military infrastructure in Mallorca, which they define as a land of peace and solidarity. MÁS per Mallorca responded to Jorge Campos

MÁS per Mallorca, the most significant political organization within the 31D Platform, participated in the event, led by its coordinator, Lluís Apesteguia, who celebrated "a resounding turnout from the Mallorcan people" at the demonstration. Apesteguia stated that "today's gathering helps to highlight December 31st as the true people's National Day of Mallorca." Meanwhile, Vicenç Vidal, MÁS per Mallorca's representative in Congress, defended the event, stating that it "is in defense of a country we want to be free, but also radically committed to democracy, freedoms, social justice, and the anti-fascist spirit." This comment connects with MÁS's denunciation of a tweet by Vox leader Jorge Campos on X, in which he suggested that the fact that "all the Catalan nationalists" were gathered in the same place was "an opportunity to be seized."

Support for country structures

Another key point was the call to strengthen the island's own social fabric: unions, organizations, political parties, and, specifically, the island's media outlets. The organizers defended the need to support local media to guarantee information rooted in Mallorcan reality and to counteract, as they stated, the hegemony of "colonial" media and foreign news agendas. Finally, the mobilization reaffirmed Mallorca's status as part of the Catalan Countries and announced 2026 as the Year of the Catalan Countries, with initiatives aimed at strengthening cultural and political ties. With a tone that combined remembrance, denunciation, and a vision for the future, the December 31st Platform closed the event with a call to reorganize, to bring more people into the project, and to continue working for a free, just, and sovereign Mallorca.