A chain of chairs in the cool crosses Palma against massification

PalmaEnjoying the cool air to denounce the loss of spaces for residents. More than 1,300 people took to the streets in Palma this Saturday to protest against tourist overcrowding and to demand measures to curb the pressure that Mallorca is suffering. They did so with their chairs, sitting in the center of the city and forming a large human chain that began in Plaça d’Espanya and advanced to La Llotja.

The mobilization, called by activist Madò Farta and with the support of GOB and Terraferida, has turned one of the most daily traditions of the towns and neighborhoods of Mallorca –sitting in the street in the evening to enjoy the cool air– into an act of protest. The image of hundreds of chairs occupying the streets of the center of Palma has served to claim, precisely, the right of residents to occupy and enjoy the spaces of their city and their island.

The participants, many of them dressed in green, red, and white, the traditional colors of the siurells, have set up their chairs along the route. Some have taken advantage of the afternoon to read and play board games, and others have taken out their crochet tools, while banners and proclamations against overtourism accompanied the chain.

The action took place in a festive and family atmosphere, with volunteers distributing participants into groups along the route.

Among the posters that could be read were slogans such as 'We want to recover our home' and 'Tourists, go home', as well as messages related to the loss of housing and public space.

The protest aims to highlight several demands related to the protection of the territory, climate and water security, and the need to limit tourist growth.

A chain of chairs to La Llotja

The action began in the Plaça d’Espanya and has covered some of the main streets and squares in the center of Palma. The participants initially gathered there and, from there, volunteers distributed them along the route through Porta Pintada, Sant Miquel, Plaça Major and Jaume II until they reached Plaça de Cort. The demonstrators continued towards the Palau Reial, Carrer del Conquistador, Antoni Maura and Passeig de Sagrera, before reaching the Consolat and ending the route in La Llotja.

During the mobilization, participants were able to submit their claims in writing to the Government through volunteers from the organization. Attendees were able to write their demands on the papers that were distributed to them throughout the protest, which were then collected by the volunteers. Madò Farta's intention is for the protest to also serve to directly convey citizen demands against overpopulation to the Executive.

The call comes a few days after the last dinner against gentrification organized by Brunzit, another of the recent actions that have brought the debate on touristification and the transformation of neighborhoods to the streets of Palma.