Common outcry against rural construction: "It's not a government, it's a developer."

More than 300 people demonstrated outside the Parliament as part of a mobilization called by the Mallorca Government and the Federation of Neighborhood Associations of Palma, among other groups, against the harm they believe results from the land acquisition law in Palma. The protest coincided with the extraordinary plenary session in which the law is to be approved. "Marga Prohens, speculator," "PP and Vox, government of developers," and "She's not a government, she's a developer" were some of the slogans shouted amid whistles and middle fingers in the air, a sign of disagreement with the regulations. Green T-shirts supporting the islands' native language were also worn at the demonstration.

The protesters argue that the law, which is expected to be approved with the support of the PP and Vox, allows construction in the transitional areas surrounding the city of Palma, increases buildability, authorizes densities of up to 225 inhabitants per hectare, and replaces the planning of social housing with affordable housing.

They also claim that the bill reduces green space requirements and does not provide for any expansion of basic public services, such as healthcare or education, nor for measures related to mobility or water. What it does establish, they warned, is the automatic approval of projects through positive administrative silence in just six months, leaving planning "in the hands of private business and real estate speculation."

Along the same lines, the organizers assert that the law represents the "capitalist and predatory" urban growth model that is destroying Mallorca and that will now "condemn the historic centers and neighborhoods surrounding Palma to extinction." They claim that the legislation does not address any of the neighborhoods' needs or demands, does not improve housing access for Palma residents, and has not enjoyed citizen participation or consensus.

"In the name of a residential emergency that is only used as an excuse, they are trying to pass a law secretly, disregarding our right to express our opinions, turning their backs on the participation and consensus that should characterize any democratic society," they stated. They also criticize the initiative for having been developed "without any study of mobility or water resources, on a collapsed island in environmental crisis," and believe it will accelerate the destruction of the environment. "The only obvious benefit is for developers, who will be able to build more, sell for more, and will have to give up less land for infrastructure and public services," they added.

Therefore, they are calling on the Government to halt the approval of the law, to not "destroy" Palma's General Plan, and to listen to the residents and neighborhoods. The GOB has emphasized that Balearic society "does not want this model," which "definitively breaks the balance between population and natural resources and condemns future generations to live in a collapsed territory."

For its part, the Platform for Democratic Memory considered the law to be "an aggression" that adds to those "already being carried out against democratic memory." They have also supported the Balearic Cultural Work (OCB), the Civil Society Forum, the Less Tourism, More Life platform, and the People's Assembly of Son Sardina and Sa Garriga, among others.