The government delegation requests that a disciplinary file be opened for the police charges

PalmaThe delegation of the Spanish government in the Balearic Islands has asked the General Directorate of the Police to open a reserved information file to determine if some of the agents who intervened in the police charges last Sunday in Palma committed infractions liable to disciplinary sanction. The decision comes after a week marked by intense political and social controversy following the police action at the end of the demonstration against tourist overcrowding on July 26.

The government delegate, Alfonso Rodríguez, took this step after commissioning an exhaustive report on the events to the superior chief of the National Police in the Balearic Islands, José Antonio Puebla. Even before receiving the conclusions of this report, Rodríguez formally requested an investigation into whether some agents used excessive force during the intervention.

In a statement, the Government Delegation assured that it works "with rigor and seriousness" to promote the necessary administrative procedures to clarify what happened and stated that the results and conclusions of the investigation will be made public when the process has concluded.

The police charges occurred after the demonstration called by the platform 'Less Tourism, More Life' under the slogan 'Mallorca at the limit'. The protest gathered 25,000 people, according to the National Police, and 70,000, according to the organization, and became the most massive mobilization against the tourism model in recent years.

Tension broke out when the National Police prevented the access of the demonstrators to Les Voltes, the place where the final manifesto was to be read. The organizers denounced that the venue had been limited to about 2,000 people for security reasons, a justification that generated even more controversy when, just three days later, the same venue hosted a concert with more than 3,000 attendees. This contradiction fueled criticism about a possible restriction of the right to protest.

After the reading of the manifesto in Parc de la Mar, several police charges occurred, leaving at least eight people injured, including a photojournalist. The images of the interventions, widely disseminated on social media, caused a wave of outrage and motivated complaints from participants who claimed to have been hit with truncheons or assaulted while trying to assist other demonstrators.

The events also occurred after weeks of growing tension surrounding the movement against overtourism. The publication of the direct action manual by the platform Menys Turisme, Més Vida (Less Tourism, More Life), the arrest of two activists linked to alleged vandalism against real estate agencies, and the hardening of the political debate on protests had placed the mobilization under strong pressure even before it took place.

Following the charges, the organizing collectives, numerous social entities, and various political organizations demanded accountability and called for the resignation of the government delegate, Alfonso Rodríguez. However, this Wednesday, the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, publicly expressed his support for him.

In parallel, police unions have also criticized the delegate's actions, but for opposite reasons. They consider that his public statements question an intervention that, they argue, was proportional and appropriate given the aggressive attitude they attribute to some of the protesters.

Now, the reserved information file will have to determine whether any of the agents deployed during the operation violated the action protocols or if the use of force was in line with the criteria established by the National Police.