Son Bordoy, facing eviction: "We are not poor, this is our home"

PalmOne October evening, as dusk fell, the local police arrived at Son Bordoy, a vast plot of land in the Molinar neighborhood where approximately 200 people live, including some with disabilities, victims of gender violence, and minors. "Two vans arrived, and I was scared. Suddenly, I asked what was happening, and they told me we had 10 days to leave the land," says Paco, a 24-year-old who has lived there and is registered as a resident for as long as he has. After all this time without having "any problems with anyone," as he claims, he now lives with the uncertainty of not knowing what will happen to his home.

The same thing happened to Ángel Paredes, a 67-year-old man who, upon arriving in Mallorca as a newlywed, lived in an industrial building near the Directorate General of Traffic. Later, he moved to a shack on the seafront in El Molinar, until, as he describes it, "Ms. Angelines, the right-hand woman of the then-mayor of Palma, Joan Fageda (PP)," informed them that they could move to Son Bordoy. This transfer of use of the municipal land is documented in a document held by the Palma City Council (Cort) which, according to Paredes, "they refuse to give to the residents."

They tell their story inside a room dominated by a fireplace burning a huge log, warming a roll of coffee for about twenty people. "We're not poor, and we don't need anything. This is our home. It's exactly the same as when we arrived. We've only tiled and painted it. But white, because the only condition Mrs. Angelines set was that we couldn't paint the walls any other colors," says Natalio, a 47-year-old man and owner of the house where the story is being told. He used to live in a prefabricated house in the Las Maravillas neighborhood of El Arenal. He recalls that "Mrs. Angelines" made them the offer after seeing that, in Palma, the seasonal workers who arrived from the mainland lived in prefabricated houses and shacks scattered throughout various parts of the city.

They have a very strong sense of belonging to Son Bordoy, their home, and to the Molinar neighborhood. The children are in school and play for local sports clubs. They've always been integrated, they say. Natalio's eight-year-old grandson sits on the sofa, silently nodding his head in agreement that he has friends in the neighborhood and doesn't want to leave. "I remember playing with the police officers' children around the neighborhood when I was little. We all know each other and we don't have any problems with anyone," he says, then lists a couple of bars and shops and names their owners to prove he's from here. "My two daughters are from Mallorca. The pediatrician who helped me have them, years later, did the same for them and my grandchildren," the woman adds, reinforcing her husband's point.

Some of the men in the room work in scrap metal—"making ends meet," as they call it—while others combine it with seasonal jobs. Some of the women work as housekeepers, while others work on online sales platforms, in hospital cleaning services, or in the hospitality industry.

Everyone in the room is clear that they will fight to stay in their home. "We're open to talking and reaching an agreement. However, nobody will get us out of here unless they give us a solution. Otherwise, I'll lock myself in with my wife and children, and they'll have to break down the walls to get in," warns Natalio. "I don't want to leave my little house," says Nazaré, 28, mother of a seven-year-old boy and a three-year-old girl, pointing to the wooden ceiling of the bathroom. It's perfectly fitted—you can see the cuts where one plank begins and the next ends—because not a single drop of water gets in. She has no access to hot water. So, she stores the water she heats with a washing machine heating element in huge plastic buckets.

So far, the only person who has helped them and spoken with them, they say, has been Ángela Pons, spokesperson for the Platform of People Affected by Mortgages (PAH). She has also been "the only one" to offer them alternatives, such as joining the waiting list for housing through the Balearic Housing Institute (IBAVI). The Palma City Council (Cort) has assured ARA Baleares that Social Services has offered the residents of Son Bordoy a range of services, which, depending on each individual's circumstances, includes assistance with housing, personal hygiene, food, and access to shelters. They also acknowledge that the only alternative housing proposal for the residents has come from the PAH, which asked Cort to use the remaining funds from the 2025 budget to purchase prefabricated units to house the families of Son Bordoy and also the nearly 300 people living in the former Palma prison. "They cost between 3,000 and 8,000 euros each. Palma City Council spends a fortune cleaning the GESA facade and doesn't give a single euro for this. They should be ashamed," says the PAH spokesperson.

The residents of Son Bordoy have always been grateful to the Popular Party mayor for giving them the land to live on, a gesture they even repaid with votes that, over the years, some have shifted to the far right. However, they are now aware that the PP and Vox coalition government is the one that wants to force them out. "We never imagined it. Now we won't vote for Vox," one resident says.

They don't want to go back to where they came from. "There's no work in Granada, and besides, rents have gone up," says one of them. "Same in Badajoz," replies another. They're not refusing to pay rent either. "As long as our finances allow. We can't afford 1,500 euros," says Paco. He also mentions the children and the freedom they have on that vast plot of land. "Here, we're almost all family. The little ones go out to play in the fields with their cousins ​​every day and have a great time. Right now, they're all in one house, playing. Where would we put them if they kick us out?" he says. Maria, a 56-year-old woman, addresses the issue of squatting: "If they kick us out, there's a chance someone could break a lock and get in wherever we are. With children, what do they expect us to do, live under a bridge?"

Focus

The urban development plans for Son Bordoy are not new: partial plans and regulations were approved years ago that envisioned the area's development at a lower density, but the project has been reconfigured several times to adapt to new regulations and social demands. The large plot of land came under the scrutiny of the government and developers with the well-known 'Carbonero Law,' the government's legislation of urgent measures for sustainable territorial development, championed by PSIB councilor Jaume Carbonero.

Although politicians have considered Son Bordoy as a potential site for development for years, residents say they had never been notified that they had to leave. "Nobody has told us anything; the first wave came in October," confirms Natalio. It seems the political intentions have materialized, and both the Palma City Council and the Balearic Government are beginning to move forward. Paco recalls how the developer's signs were put up on the adjacent plots almost two weeks ago, although the eviction is currently on hold, according to the court-appointed lawyer who informed the residents of Son Bordoy. Maria's husband remembers seeing workers with excavators in the summer "digging holes to check for water."

In June 2025, the regional government approved the Son Bordoy urban development project, which will involve "the construction of up to 750 homes, of which 150 will be public housing, 350 price-controlled, and the rest market-rate," according to sources at the Palma City Council (Cort). Despite the City Council's announcement, the Platform of People Affected by Mortgages (PAH) doubts that this promise will be kept and denounces that "there are already proposals to build penthouses for one million euros." Natalio jokes, "That'll definitely be mine." He then states that they are open to paying rent to live in the public housing units that are supposed to be built.

The Palma City Council's Urban Planning Department has recently approved the road connecting to the future development in Son Bordoy. The municipal project "consists of upgrading the Viquet road to accommodate the anticipated traffic resulting from the population increase in the area," explained sources from the City Council to ARA Baleares.

For now, the eviction is on hold. However, they live each day not knowing if it will be their last in that house.