New graffiti against tourist overcrowding appear in front of a real estate agency a few days before Sunday's protest
The actions arrive in a context of growing tension over the tourism model, after the arrests of two young women for graffiti in Santa Maria and before the demonstration under the slogan 'Mallorca is at its limit'
PalmaNew graffiti against mass tourism have appeared this Wednesday in front of a real estate agency in the center of Palma, amid escalating tension around the debate on Mallorca's tourism model and just a few days before the demonstration planned for this Sunday, which is expected to be massive, called under the slogan 'Mallorca is at its limit'.
The graffiti, with messages critical of touristification and real estate speculation, arrive in a context of growing social mobilization. The platform Menys Turisme, Més Vida (Less Tourism, More Life), which is promoting the protest, denounces that administrations continue to fail to adopt effective measures to curb saturation.
The new graffiti is framed within a climate of tension that has intensified in recent weeks. Last week, two young women were arrested accused of having spray-painted five real estate agencies in Santa Maria in protest against the touristification of Mallorca. These events triggered a strong controversy with the arrests, heavily questioned, by the Civil Guard and which this weekend translated into several episodes of tension, with aggressions and the appearance of graffiti – on the houses of the detainees' relatives – with neo-Nazi symbolism.
This Sunday's demonstration aims to reposition the debate on the tourism model at the center of the political agenda. Under the slogan 'Mallorca is at its limit', the organizers demand a profound change in public policies and insist that the current situation is unsustainable from both a social and environmental point of view.
In statements to ARA Balears, sources from the platform emphasize that "it cannot be that every year records are broken for tourist arrivals" while saturation and overcrowding become "unbearable" for a large part of the resident population. They warn that this model has direct consequences on the quality of life of Majorcans, especially due to the growing difficulties in accessing housing, the pressure on public services, and the environmental burden that the island bears.