They request an audit of the Palma 2031 bid after its "failure"

PalmThe PSOE of Palma will ask in the May plenary session for the censure of the Councilor of Culture for his management of Palma's candidacy as European Capital of Culture in 2031. Furthermore, the socialists will ask for the resignation of Gori Vicens Heredeia, the general director of Cultural Projects, and that all expenses related to the Palma 2031 candidacy be audited and made public in detail. For the deputy spokesperson of the socialists in Cort, Silvana González, “the failure of the Palma 2031 candidacy is the failure of a method and an electoral promise of the Popular Party government”.

González explained that the international jury has put in black and white what creators, entities, and cultural professionals have been warning for months: "It is a candidacy based more on a tourism methodology than on a clear cultural strategy, with a lack of participation and excessively oriented towards tourist promotion.

“They have also brought to light the structural deficiencies of municipal political action in matters of culture that we have been denouncing for months”, said the deputy spokesperson.

Redefinition of cultural policies

The motion calls for a redefinition of municipal cultural policies based on dialogue, participation, and transparency.

According to González, experts considered that the project presented by Palma "did not clearly define a solid cultural strategy, lacked concrete information on the status of the projects, and there was no programming capable of generating European, social, and artistic impact". The evaluation also pointed to an excessive promotional orientation of the candidacy linked to tourism, to the detriment of an approach focused on culture as a tool for transformation and social and territorial cohesion, as well as support for cultural creation and innovation, he remarked.

"Unsustainable increase in tourist pressure"

For its part, MÉS per Palma will bring to the next plenary session a proposal to limit and reduce terraces in the most saturated neighborhoods of Palma. The objective of the motion is to promote actions to confront the unsustainable increase in tourist pressure, which has consequences such as noise pollution and the loss of quality of life in the neighborhoods. The party denounces that the PP government "has given a free rein to the privatization of public space" and has aggravated coexistence problems by eliminating controls and facilitating the expansion of bars and restaurants.

MÉS's proposal comes after neighborhood mobilizations under the slogan 'Noise is torture' and the recent ruling by the TSJIB that recognizes the “acoustical torture” suffered by residents in the Plaza de Toros of Palma.

MÁS por Palma demands an immediate moratorium on licenses for new bars and restaurants in already saturated areas. It also demands not to grant new authorizations or new terrace extensions in neighborhoods with the most conflict. Among other aspects, the initiative also proposes recovering the minimum distance between catering establishments to avoid the overcrowding of people.