The PSOE of Palma has denounced the state of neglect in the Rafal Nou neighbourhood and will present residents' complaints about lack of maintenance, absence of police, and parking issues at the municipal plenary in July.
The PSOE of Palma has focused on Rafal Nou. The party has denounced the state of neglect that this working-class neighbourhood is suffering and has announced that it will bring the main complaints of the residents to the municipal plenary in July. Among these are the lack of maintenance of public spaces, the absence of police presence, the deterioration of sidewalks, and serious parking problems.
The Secretary General of the Socialist Group of Palma and mayoral candidate, Iago Negueruela, visited the neighbourhood accompanied by community representatives and socialist councillors Daniel Oliveira and Pepe Martínez. The Secretary General of the Palma Nord Group, María José Jiménez, was also present. The aim: to understand firsthand the needs of an area that, according to the socialists, is facing a double threat.
Gentrification and neglect: the two sides of Rafal Nou's crisis
Councillor Pepe Martínez was blunt:
“Rafal Nou is a working-class neighbourhood of lifelong workers, which is currently facing two threats: gentrification and neglect.”According to Martínez, the rising cost of housing is hitting this neighbourhood hard.
“Airbnb has arrived in Rafal, houses now cost not 200,000 but 400,000 euros, and people can no longer live in their neighbourhood,” he stated.The councillor criticised that many families are forced to live together in the same house due to the impossibility of accessing another home in the area.
“In the houses, children, parents, and grandparents are piling up because they cannot move either within their neighbourhood or to the nearby Son Güells development,” he pointed out.
Deteriorated public spaces and lack of basic services
The socialists also denounced the deterioration of several public spaces in Rafal Nou. According to Martínez, the neighbourhood “is trying to resist” with a residents' association that “has been left without a venue,” a central square “increasingly deteriorated,” cobblestones in poor condition, a fountain without water, and streets that “still flood when it rains.” During the visit, residents conveyed other complaints to the PSOE, such as the lack of parking, the absence of police presence, the poor condition of sidewalks and the Rosa Bueno park, the poor lighting on the street of ses Salines, and the fact that the neighbourhood only has one bus information screen that, they claim, “has never worked.”
For residents, these problems are not new. They have been demanding solutions from the Palma City Council, currently governed by the PP, for years. The lack of maintenance and neglect of public spaces contrasts with the rise of tourist apartments, which have driven up housing prices in the area. Rafal Nou, a traditionally working-class neighbourhood, is facing a transformation process that many residents view with concern.
The PSOE has announced that it will bring these complaints to the municipal plenary in July. The aim is for the municipal government team to take action and allocate budgetary funds to improve the neighbourhood. Iago Negueruela has stated that “it is unacceptable for a neighbourhood like Rafal Nou to be neglected while projects are being promoted in other areas of the city.”
Meanwhile, residents continue to wait for concrete solutions. The residents' association, without its own venue, continues to organise to make their demands heard. The next meeting will be at the municipal plenary, where the socialists hope the other political groups will support their proposals. If not, the neighbourhood will continue to resist, as Martínez says, “despite this council.”
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