Controversy over private medical school: PSIB and MÁS denounce urban development pressure and traffic chaos

PalmThe Socialist Workers' Party (PSIB) and MÁS por Palma have criticized the private medical university project that the Palma regional government and city council approved in record time. Both the Socialists and the eco-sovereignty party believe it is an elitist urban development project that will also exacerbate mobility problems in the area and jeopardize the quality of higher education in Mallorca and the Balearic Islands.

PSIB MP Carles Bona asserted that "this university has the Catholic Association of Propagandists and the University Real Estate Agency behind it." The Socialist considered that this urban development project "adds pressure on an already saturated area and, furthermore, is being built on a rural basis." He also emphasized that it was carried out without "mobility studies." Bona criticized the speed of the process: "They approved the project in less than a week; few private universities can afford that. Their tricks are obvious."

The Socialist MP also lamented that, from an academic perspective, "it contributes nothing, because all the degrees they offer are already at the UIB." "If they wanted to focus on academics, they could have promoted places at the public university," he added. She also warned that "it will generate conflict with UIB students because the internship space will be saturated" and questioned the quality of the center: "They want to start studies next year and that casts doubt on the quality of teaching, because I don't know where they'll get the teachers from."

For her part, MÁS councilor for Palma, Neus Truyol, pointed out that "it's bad news for education, pluralism, and democracy that more and more private and Catholic universities are opening in our region." She emphasized that this is a trend linked to the PP governments, especially in Madrid, and is now spreading to the Canary Islands.

"Traffic chaos"

Truyol criticized the fact that "with express land reclassification processes and rapid permits," private services are being promoted, while other public services drag on. She also warned that "locating a private university in a high-risk area will cause real traffic chaos" because "there is no adequate public transport network and there is still no mobility report."

The eco-sovereignty leader recalled that in the same area, the Government will cede public land that was to be used for facilities for the neighborhood, where Finally, private developers will build 110 homes "at prices unaffordable for families."According to Truyol, "a complete urban development operation is underway in this area: unaffordable housing and a private, Catholic, and elitist university. This is bad news for the neighborhood, the city, and its residents."

This private school, promoted by the Catholic CEU San Pablo Foundation, successfully reclassified the former Riskal land in just nine days, two of which were weekends. The developers had acquired the Riskal building a few months ago, when the details of the regulation that allowed the multi-million-dollar transaction were still unknown.

However, the decree-law accelerating projects that allowed this center to move forward did not make it through parliament on Tuesday. The Catalan government needed the votes of Vox, which has opposed it due to the executive's refusal to respond to its demands regarding Catalan. Therefore, the government will need to find ways to get the private medical school moving.