Thousands of people say no to touristification in Sóller: "Prohens, listen, we are in a fight"

PalmaAround 2,500 people (according to organizers, 1,000 people according to the Spanish government delegation) demonstrated this Saturday in Sóller along a route that began in Plaça dels Estiradors, passed through Carrer de la Lluna, and culminated in Plaça de la Constitució. After the demonstration on July 26 in Palma, Sóller, a symbol of tourist overcrowding, was the next stage of citizen mobilization.

With slogans like ‘Land or death’, people of all ages and backgrounds have once again brought to the fore the perverse effects that overcrowding and the speculation that this economic model entails have on citizens: "We can no longer live in our cities and towns", explained Margalida, a young woman from Sóller. There was also a clear message to the President of the Government, Marga Prohens: "Prohens, listen, we are fighting", was heard at different moments of the protest. The head of the Executive has not met with any of the entities demanding urgent measures. It is the first time there has been an anti-saturation mobilization of these dimensions outside of Palma, a fact that highlights the population's level of exhaustion. The protest was called by Moviment Jove de Sóller, along with Menys Turisme, Més Vida.

From early morning, an unusual sight could be seen in Sóller. In Plaça de la Constitució, no bar was open, nor had any terrace been set up. But there were civil guards and local police in every corner. Some restaurateurs and merchants had already expressed their concern about the protest. But the reservations have been unfounded, because the demonstration has developed in a civic and peaceful manner. "The civil guards told us to be alert, in case we had to lower the barrier quickly," explained a shop assistant from a bakery with a look of stupor while some customers laughed."

Also from early morning, tourists have been astonished to contemplate the scene offered by the center of Sóller, which, as 10 a.m. approached, the moment to kick off the protest, was filling with people and banners. Two buses with protesters have traveled to Sóller, one from Manacor and another from Palma, and at 9:40 a.m. there were already hundreds of people waiting in the Plaça dels Estiradors. In addition to the organizers, about eighty entities have joined.

"We are here because what we are living is impossible. You can't even walk through your town and everything is much more expensive. We have to go to Palma to buy what we need and bring it here. We are not against tourists, but we want a normal life," commented Aina, willing to make the protest route despite her mobility difficulties.

"Sóller and the island are at their limit, they can't take any more. We have been saying this for years and we are not heard," said Sofia Zamrik, one of the spokespersons for the Sóller Youth Movement. "There should be demonstrations in all the towns, cities and neighborhoods of Mallorca," she added. For his part, Dani Comas, spokesperson for Menys Turisme, Més Vida, insisted that Sóller is one of the towns most affected by touristification and criticized that the majority of tourist rentals in the municipality "is illegal". "We are addressing the institutions, because they all have the capacity to make changes," he remarked.

"We are tired of being overcrowded"; "less destruction, more limitation"; "who loves Mallorca, does not destroy it"; "gentrification is destruction", are some of the slogans that have been heard along the route. On the banners, messages could be read such as "We are a town, not an investment"; "we are tired of being overcrowded"; "I want a varied dish, not a brunch"; "class struggle, not tourismphobia"; "get the rentiers out of our towns"; "we have gone from being a town to being a postcard"; "who loves Mallorca, cannot afford it"; "I don't want to lose someone dear to live in Sóller"; "where we used to play as children there is now a hotel"; and "this land is ours, let the gentlemen know it".

Spectators in houses and shops

During the route, many elderly people have watched the parade from their windows. The soundtrack of the demonstration has been the drums, the flutes, and the batucada that led the participants. "I am completely in favor of the demonstration. There are too many people and crowds do harm," said Fina, who was smiling at her doorstep. Another neighbor wished there would be no problems, "as happened in Palma." Next to her, some tourists explained that they had seen announcements for the call. "We don't know what the problems of the local people are," they commented.

Workers and owners have gathered at the doors of the shops on Carrer de la Lluna. Some applauded and others simply watched the march of the protesters, who had to fold one of the main banners when the street became narrow, in silence. Among them, Andrew, a British jeweler who came to live in Sóller "to escape Brexit". "I have seen many changes since I have lived here and I understand that people are angry," he pointed out. "There are people who do not want to have an opinion about what is happening. But in a place like Sóller it is important to have one," he added.

"This protest is a problem, because we tourists bring the money so that the local people can live," criticized a French visitor, stopped at a corner with his wife and son.

Adolfo came from Galicia in 2003, and now lives with the anguish of having to renew his rental contract in two years. "It is getting more difficult to live here every day. I have two children, how can I not be against tourist rentals?" he highlighted, as he passed by the Sa Lluna haberdashery, where Margalida, its owner, was applauding enthusiastically in front of the liquidation signs for closure. Another lifelong business disappearing.