The platform Menys Turisme, Més Vida has called for an urgent demonstration this Tuesday at noon in front of the Government Delegation in Palma to demand the resignation of Alfonso Rodríguez.
The platform Menys Turisme, Més Vida, organiser of the protests against tourist overcrowding in Mallorca, has called for an urgent demonstration this Tuesday at noon on Constitució Street in Palma, in front of the Government Delegation. The aim is to demand the resignation of the Government delegate in the Balearic Islands, Alfonso Rodríguez (PSOE), whom they accuse of being responsible for the "unjustifiable police violence" that, they claim, occurred during the protest last Sunday.
In a statement released this Monday, the entity asserts that the actions of the National Police were "excessive" and that "they even fired at completely peaceful people." According to their account, the charges began "without prior warning" and without medical services being deployed. "The people from the organisation had to take care of the injured and wait more than 45 minutes for medical assistance for people with open head wounds who needed stitches," they state. They add that the police prevented an ambulance from arriving and that "there were four medics for five injured."
The platform details that the first confrontations began before the manifesto was read, when many people tried to access Ses Voltes, an area that, they claim, was "almost empty." "Subsequently, the tension focused on the access promenade. When the police refused to let people pass, it was agreed to read the manifesto in the place where most of the crowd was gathered. It was while this manifesto was being read that a group of police officers arrived in the area and charged without any reason against the people who were listening," they explain.
According to the organisation, the situation worsened when the National Police withdrew, leaving the protesters uncontrolled. "The worst came at the end: when the demonstration had already been declared concluded and the speeches and performances that had been prepared had been carried out very poorly, the police initiated the most severe, totally unjustified and disproportionate charges against the protesters who remained in the vicinity." These charges, they indicate, began on Antoni Maura Avenue and extended to the beginning of the Born neighbourhood, leaving dozens injured, some with serious head injuries that required medical attention, including a journalist.
The entity claims that this action is indeed violence, referring to a manual they had circulated weeks earlier on how to protest. "Violence is these events and not a manual that talks about putting silicone in locks. Violence is preventing a peaceful demonstration marked by public order; leaving more than a dozen injured," they assert.
The demonstration this Tuesday aims to be a civic response to what happened on Sunday. The platform has called for massive participation to show rejection of the police action and demand political accountability. The meeting is set for noon on Constitució Street, in front of the Government Delegation, where a large mobilization is expected.
So far, neither the Government Delegation nor the Ministry of the Interior has officially commented on the accusations. The protest on Sunday, which brought together tens of thousands of people against tourist overcrowding, ended with police charges that have generated strong controversy on the island. The urgent call for this Tuesday raises tensions between the civic movement and the institutions, in a context of growing social discontent regarding the tourist model and the management of protests.
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