The arrest of the activists boosts the sale of SOS Residents banners

Palma"We don't know what else we can do anymore: banners, resist, demonstrations... But if when someone takes another step, like graffiti, they expose you in the media and come looking for you at your home, I don't know what else we can do". The indignation belongs to Margalida Castell, manager of the Quart Creixent bookstore, following the "arrest of two young women for graffiti against tourist overcrowding in Santa Maria. Faced with this situation, the bookstore has reinforced the distribution of SOS Residents banners, which have been almost sold out after the intervention of the Civil Guard.

"People want to show their support again," explains Castell. "We are the ones who are struggling, not the real estate agencies." The increase in demand is particularly significant because the Civil Guard considers a SOS Residents poster, which one of the detainees had in her home, to be incriminating. The two young women are under investigation, presumably, for continuous damage, damage to historical heritage, and membership in a criminal group.

Quart Creixent acts as a distribution point for banners and bags for the SOS Residents campaign on a non-profit basis, with profits being entirely dedicated to the collective. Although they were already selling them before, Castell assures that demand has skyrocketed in recent days.

The manager also denounces the consequences that touristification has had on the business. "There are no local people living in the center of Palma anymore. If you walk down the street, there are only tourists, and we don't have any products focused on tourism. The business has suffered," she states. Furthermore, she believes that many residents have stopped going to the center because "they can't park or walk".

The demonstration of July 26th

On a personal level, Castell confirms that he will participate in the demonstration "Mallorca al Límit", called by the platform Menys Turisme, Més Vida for July 26. However, he admits that among the bookstore owners there is weariness: "Some are quite fed up with resisting every summer." The arrest of the two young women has placed the protest at the center of public debate, with a strong repercussion on social networks and in the media.