Margalida Ramis leaves the GOB

PalmAfter 17 years, Margalida Ramis will cease to be the spokesperson for Mallorca's main environmental group, the GOB. Ramis has confirmed to the newspaper ARA Balears that the change not only means stepping down as head of territorial campaigns and spokesperson, but also marks the end of her working relationship with the GOB.

In a message sent to a group comprising various entities, the environmentalist explained that "it has been a pleasure and a giant learning experience throughout all the time and shared spaces. We will continue, because we no longer know (nor do we want to know) any other way of being in this world than fighting against everything that seems an aggression, an injustice, or a nonsense, and continuing to collectively generate illusions, hope, and possibilities."

Margalida Ramis (sa Pobla, 1976) has established herself as one of the most recognizable figures in environmentalism in the Balearic Islands. A graduate in Physics from the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB), she has managed territory and natural resources since 2007, an area from which she has contributed to placing key issues such as urban planning, tourist pressure, and environmental sustainability in public debate. Before joining the organization, she had been involved in sustainability research at the UIB and participated in the launch of Engineers Without Borders in the Balearic Islands, which already evidenced, even then, a strong social and environmental commitment.

Ramis has been one of the most critical voices regarding the proliferation of urban development projects on rural land and in environmentally sensitive areas. From the organization, she has repeatedly denounced land rezoning processes and has warned about the risks of real estate speculation on an island with limited resources. Ramis has been particularly active in the debate about the limits of Mallorca's tourism model and has highlighted the impacts on the territory, access to housing, and pressure on natural resources. Furthermore, she has advocated for the need to move towards a more sustainable model, with measures that go beyond simple growth containment.

She presided over the entity for one year

Margalida Ramis also led the entity as president, replacing Amadeu Corbera. Her arrival was surrounded by a certain internal controversy, because some voices asked that a worker not hold senior management positions. Last December, one year after her election, she was replaced by Teresa Cuennet, who has already been president for a year and a half.

Beyond specific campaigns, Margalida Ramis's discourse is part of a broader vision that questions the dominant economic model in the Balearic Islands. In this regard, she defends the need for structural change that reduces dependence on tourism and opts for a model based on degrowth, sustainability, and better territorial planning.

With a direct style and a constant presence in public debate, Ramis has become one of the most persistent voices in setting limits to growth and advocating for the protection of the territory. In a context of increasing pressure on resources and landscape, her figure symbolizes the continuity of an environmentalism that, in the Balearic Islands, has been trying to balance development and conservation for decades.

"Thank you for so many years of exemplary struggle"

The GOB has issued a statement announcing the departure of its president and thanking her for the work done both in this last year at the helm of the environmental group and during her long career. "We want to publicly express our most sincere gratitude for the work done over all these years, for her dedication, her commitment, and her ability to place the entity in key spaces for debate and impact," the group details.

Furthermore, they add that, during this time, she has been a "fundamental piece" in some of the organization's most relevant initiatives. Among many others, they have highlighted her role in the campaign Salvem sa Ràpita, as well as the promotion of two popular legislative initiatives: Unas Islas para vivir and, especially, the ILP of Future Generations, which has become the first approved in the Parliament of the Balearic Islands and the first in the Spanish state focused on this issue.

According to their statement, her contribution has been "profound and transformative, and leaves a clear mark on the entity and on Mallorcan society." "Thank you for everything," they concluded.