The residents of Son Sardina return to the street to demand Can Pesquet: "We want a date"

PalmaDozens of people gathered this Sunday afternoon in front of Can Pesquet, on Passatemps street in Son Sardina, to demand, once again, that Cort acquire the plot and promote a public square and community center managed by the people. The protest, called by the Popular Assembly of Son Sardina and la Garriga, also served to demand that the mayor of Palma, Jaime Martínez, fulfill the commitment that, according to the organizers, he made a year ago to buy the space.

People linked to different associations and entities of the neighborhood participated in the gathering, from sectors related to the school to the elderly, cultural groups, and neighborhood organizations. During the protest, slogans such as 'A square and community center at Can Pesquet' and 'Jaime Martínez, enough of the contempt' were heard.

The Assembly denounces that Son Sardina currently does not have an open square or a publicly owned facility and considers that this lack of space even makes it difficult to organize neighborhood festivities.

Criticism of Cort's management

In the manifesto read at the end of the rally, the organizers reproached Cort for having "disregarded," "lied to," and denied them explanations regarding the situation of the plot over the last year, while the City Council, as they claim, maintained that there were negotiations to acquire it.

The Assembly has especially criticized that Solvia, which had been the owner of the plot, ended up selling it to a private individual. The organizers have thus questioned Cort's actions and asked the mayor why he is "so afraid" of expropriating the investment funds that, as they denounce, speculate with the territory.

The platform considers Can Pesquet a historic demand of the people and has accused the municipal government of dedicating its efforts to "tourist macro-projects" and large investments in the seafront while, as it states, neighborhoods suffer from speculative pressure.

In this sense, they have given the case of the Vivero and the Iris cinema as an example and have accused Cort of intervening in Son Sardina mainly to "censor organization and popular culture," in reference to the situation of the Casal.

The protesters have demanded that the City Council not limit itself to announcing that Can Pesquet will be public, but rather set a date and specify the steps to make the acquisition effective. "We demand that Cort acquire the plot immediately and begin the project to build a public square and a community center under popular management there," they claimed. Furthermore, the Assembly wants the future project to take into account the proposals that emerged from the people themselves.