'Housing costs us our lives': protest called in Palma against evictions

PalmaVarious groups in defense of the right to housing have called for a rally this Sunday, June 21, at 12 p.m., in Plaça d’Espanya in Palma to denounce the housing situation in the Balearic Islands and protest against evictions carried out by administrations without offering residential alternatives.

The mobilization, under the slogan 'Housing costs us our lives', is part of a series of protests taking place throughout the State since May. The organizing entities are focusing on the recent evictions in Palma and the lack of housing solutions for the affected people.

Among the cases they point out is the recent eviction of the old Palma prison, a municipal building where about 250 people resided. According to their complaints, most families have not received a stable alternative and some have ended up in improvised settlements or in street situations.

The collectives also denounce the situation in Son Bordoy, where around 180 people have been living for decades in dwellings that the City Council considers substandard and which could be demolished as part of an urban development. The organizations assure that these are families rooted in the neighborhood and accuse institutions of prioritizing real estate interests over the right to housing.

Furthermore, they recall that the Balearic Housing Law obliges administrations to guarantee residential alternatives before carrying out evictions. In this regard, they demand the halting of evictions without rehousing, the preservation of Son Bordoy's dwellings, and a stricter application of current regulations.

Sunday's protest comes at a time of growing tension over housing prices and the increase in situations of residential vulnerability in the Islands, a debate that has intensified in recent months both in Palma and the rest of the Archipelago.