The Manifesto Of The Puerto Pollensa Party

More on the protest thing - the Puerto Pollensa one. There is a "manifesto" for this "manifestación" (which is Spanish for demonstration): a four-page document, outlining the gripes and fingering the town hall. The demo will coincide with market day on Wednesday next week. Don't try getting any petrol in Puerto Pollensa on Wednesday, as the petrol station's likely to be log-jammed with protesters.

The manifesto deals with the items listed on 26 May (Fix You?), to which has been added a further item regarding the state of the waste of space and money that is La Gola. "The state" pretty much sums the whole thing up. The state of Puerto Pollensa in different respects.

The second main point in this manifesto is telling. It refers to the fact that tourism is the "motor" of the local economy. Yes, we do know this, as the manifesto says. But let's just imagine, shall we, that Puerto Pollensa was currently flush with great hordes of tourists, flush with cash. Would this protest be going ahead? No, it wouldn't. Macroeconomic difficulties have created the micro-ist economic problems of Puerto Pollensa's tourism, not dog mess, rubbish collection or a lack of parking.

Then there is something even more telling. The manifesto refers to an abundance of domestic properties at the expense of hotels or residential areas of high social status. While the latter sounds - and is - appallingly elitist, it is the former that seems to give the game away. Separate to this latest protest (or is it part of the same thing?), the local hotels recently themselves complained about an abandonment and neglect. The manifesto appears to be supporting the hoteliers in calling for not just an appreciation of the apparent disregard of the Moll but also for more hotels. It, the manifesto, goes on to say that plots exist on which such hotels (or elitist residences) could be located. Maybe so. But the very presence of this "demand" confirms the impetus behind this manifesto: the parlous state of current tourism. It also flies in the face of that "guru" piece of the other day; that resources are stretched and that alternatives to tourism (and thus hotels) have to be sought. While the current town hall can be criticised, rightly, for all manner of things, it is not their fault that there are not more hotels; their lack is an historical fact of local planning.

This protest is a manifestation of the pain caused by recession. Let's not be fooled into thinking that it is anything else, except ...

There is justification for the protest. The lack of hotel stock has, arguably, held Puerto Pollensa back, even if the wisdom of building hotels now would be open to question; and such building would be most unlikely to occur. There is justification in there being a protest, period. In its organisation and publicity, it is an example to those elsewhere who voice discontent and then do precisely nothing, as in, most notably, the Bellevue area of Puerto Alcúdia. There is justification, though God knows where the money might come from to right the wrongs. There is justification, but of a different order to that which is being stated.

Mayor Cerdà is said to be "concerned". About what exactly? The fact that there are elections next year? One thing he should be concerned about is the structure of how the town, as a whole, is run. Let's just compare the situation in Puerto Pollensa with that in Puerto Alcúdia. There, the embellishments to the beach (costing some 700k) were recently officially "opened". Alcúdia has neither the psychological nor the physical distance problems I referred to the other day.

The justification, and if this protest is to achieve anything, and it probably won't, will be to highlight the deficiencies of the local political structure not the deficiencies with street lighting and all the rest. The perception of injustice towards the port has existed for years. It has come to a head. It needs sorting out.


QUIZ -
Yesterday: Saint Etienne, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OgV4F7JzVc


Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.