Guillem López Casasnovas: "In the Balearic Islands we live dangerously off tourism and a Madrid-style political system."

Guillem López Casasnovas (Ciutadella, 1955) is winding down. Having reached 70, the Menorcan economist with the longest career and a strong reputation beyond the island is retiring, but not entirely. He continues as an emeritus professor and maintains his commitment to the organizations he manages. gratia te amoreAs he likes to say, he is a freeloader. He chairs the Teatre Lliure Foundation and the Economic Commission of the Sagrada Familia Board of Trustees and directs the Pompeu Fabra University's Center for Research in Economics and Health, which he himself founded 30 years ago. Too many things to do to leave Barcelona and return to his native Ciutadella.

— For now, I'll stay in Barcelona, ​​but I'll be going back and forth to the island. I still go to the university two days a week. I'm an emeritus professor; I lead an area of ​​Economics and Public Management with twenty professors and I'm on the committee that governs the department. But I teach very few classes now, and I'm quite selective. Anyway, that's all. pro bono.

Until when?

— The contract I've been given is for six years, but I can terminate it whenever I want. If we don't make a permanent move to Menorca, which I can't do right now, I'll continue with everything.

Therefore, he still has years of active retirement ahead of him…

— Active, yes; retired, no. Especially with what's coming. In 2026, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Fundació Teatre Lliure and the centenary of Gaudí's death. In June, we will unveil the Tower of Jesus, and we must choose between Miquel Barceló, Cristina Iglesias, and Javier Marín as the artist who will have ten years to complete the Glory façade, which will bring the Sagrada Família to a close.

Aumon, surely, could have a greater perception of overcrowding and tourism, as in the Sagrada Família.

Five million people visit the Basilica each year. Even so, the visible influx has dropped significantly compared to just a few years ago. At least we've eliminated the long queues of people in the surrounding area. Now, if you haven't bought your ticket in advance, you don't get in, but everything is sold out from the early hours of the morning. We want to generate enough revenue to finish the construction, but we also allocate 10% of the surplus from a 50 million euro budget to subsidize social action projects and non-profit organizations. We just closed the third call for proposals and reviewed nearly 400 submissions, which highlight the inequalities that still exist in society. Since the purpose is good, we do it gladly. Furthermore, we have an agreement with the Barcelona City Council, so we help cover the metro fare deficit caused by our visitors. And yes, I can understand that it bothers some residents, just as having Barça's stadium right in front of their homes is annoying, but thanks to the Sagrada Família, there are also people who do business and rent out apartments at much higher prices than if we weren't here. What we certainly aren't is a burden on the municipality, since the Sagrada Família's ripple effect and generation of wealth and activity is undeniable.

Would you also accept a position with the entities or administrations of the Balearic Islands?

— Not now, because of the commitments I still have in Catalonia. In any case, I have no aspirations. But neither did I aspire to be patron of the Sagrada Família or a member of various advisory boards in Catalonia, or to lead the Economic Review of Catalonia...or to preside over the World Health Economics Association for six years, based in the United States... And here we are, doing it all or having done it all. As always, because gratia te amore.

Have you ever been offered any political office?

— No, but when my brother was vice president of the Consell in Menorca, a councilor at the time, Quim Vivó, asked me for help, and I offered it, also without charging a fee. Some people looked down on him for being a taxi driver, and that really bothered me. You can't judge people like that! I was a founding member of the PSM (Socialist Party of Madrid), everyone knows my political leanings, but academic life demands a balance of ideas, not partisanship. Even when I joined the Bank of Spain, where I stayed for 12 years, it was through an appointment by all the Catalan parties in Madrid. They needed someone, and the fact that I was from the outermost region and didn't have any powerful connections worked in my favor. Unió Democràtica nominated me, ERC (Republican Left of Catalonia) supported me, and Pedro Solbes appointed me. In fact, he asked Montilla to find out who I was, precisely when I was in Menorca inaugurating some windmills with the then president of the Consell, Joana Barceló. And although he called me to meet me, it wasn't necessary. Juana had already told him about me and, after two days, my name was already published in the BOE (Official State Gazette).

Having advised so many governments and institutions, what advice would you give to Pedro Sánchez now?

— I have no advice for him. He's a complete political survivor. But my mind is guided by other principles.

Is Sánchez's political delay in fulfilling the Catalan funding commitment simply because he doesn't intend to do so?

— There will be no special funding or fiscal balances. He won't comply because it's too complicated for him and because socialist nationalism doesn't believe in a truly pluralistic Spain either.

How does the PSOE's minority status in the state government impact the inability to pass budgets?

— Absolutely. The already extended budgets will be extended, which is an anomaly we've been living with for some time. Extensions should always be an exceptional measure, reserved for extraordinary situations, but that's what we have now—the worst possible solution from a democratic standpoint.

Is the Catalan process already dead?

— Yes, it's over, but it's not truly over yet. There's always a small group of people who refuse to back down, though I'm not sure they'll accept the rules of the game. Especially if the rules deteriorate and things get worse. Those people in the rear guard could reappear.

Who killed him?

— Spanish nationalism and some mistakes made by Catalan sovereignism.

Where are we headed in the Balearic Islands? How does our obsession look from the outside?

— We live dangerously off tourism and Madrid's cronyism. In terms of tourism, we now have to accept a decline in some indicators to improve our per capita income. Politically, in terms of funding, it's a different story. The pressure that Catalan parties have exerted in Madrid is something we've never experienced in the Balearic Islands. Only MÁS and a segment of civil society, like the Círculo de Economía or Alejandro Forcades in particular, have ever exerted any influence. The day he passes away, I'll have to write a proper tribute to him, because he's a man who has gone against the grain and never remained silent, despite coming from the People's Party (PP). He has never backed down.

We have always received less than we contributed to the State. Has the REB changed the situation at all?

— Very little. It remains so, and what's worse is that there's a tacit acceptance of it in the Islands. The Balearic Parliament has never requested the accounts for the fiscal deficit. The sense of Balearic identity is strained or simply nonexistent.

Could change happen only by having a regionalist party in Congress?

— Or a PSIB that does what the PSC did, which in the past held different positions from the PSOE and was dictated to from Ferraz. But that doesn't happen now, nor does it in the PP. They've always done what Génova tells them to because they believe there's a higher standard of living than we islanders can aspire to.

In the Balearic Islands we are experiencing a significant population increase, which overwhelms public services and leads to a funding deficit.

— It's a complex issue. Actions to regulate immigration must be coordinated. One community cannot expect to solve the problem for the rest of the world by opening borders. But given the loopholes created by the law, at the very least, immigrants should be guaranteed a sense of direction, knowing where they are going, what culture is welcoming them, and what language is spoken. Until this happens, all you can do is provide shelter for those who arrive. Although they are better off here than at home, we should have sufficient, well-funded social services to mitigate the collateral effects. The failure to recognize immigration in regional funding is a mistake that must be addressed, as is the lack of corporate awareness. If they benefit from having this immigrant workforce due to the low unit costs it represents, given the low productivity of the production model, they must also take responsibility for some of the externalities that these low wages generate, whether in terms of access to housing or adequate public services for these population groups, destined to integrate into the most vulnerable sectors of society. Without proper integration, you risk eroding a community's social capital, creating a polarization between natives and newcomers that, exacerbated by outdated policies, can damage social cohesion and erode the sense of community that has traditionally characterized an island like ours. Either the production model changes and takes responsibility, or regional funding must supplement social spending to address the vulnerability of newcomers.

How can it be understood that so many people want to come and live there when even the residents are not guaranteed access to housing?

— The purchasing power of some of those who want to come and enjoy the island is much greater than that of the locals who were born here. Furthermore, however difficult life may be here, it's better than what many others have in their place of origin. Solutions must be found, but the worst possible remedy would be for the network of illegal allotments on the outskirts of the cities to enter the Menorca housing market via the Territorial Planning Scheme (PTI).

How are the sustainability problems of the territory solved?

— Little by little, at most in Menorca, due to the difficulty of reversing expansionist actions. But the wind never blows favorably for those who don't know where they're going. In any case, I'll be publishing a booklet on the subject at the end of the year with the intention of providing some guidance.