MANIFESTO 27S CANVIEM EL RUMB

[CATALÀ] [CASTELLANO] [ENGLISH]

Citizens of Ibiza and Formentera:

Today, we take to the streets to demand loudly and clearly for limits to be set on tourism. We want to be able to live dignified lives in Ibiza and Formentera and we urgently need a change in direction.

We have chosen to do this today, on World Tourism Day, for its symbolic significance. Because those of us who live in the Pitiusas are well aware that these islands have long been put at the service of a predatory tourism model that has accelerated the social and ecological crisis, with consequences that affect our society and lives on a daily basis.

This summer, as well as the usual problems of overcrowded and privatized beaches, traffic jams on our roads, the invasion of natural areas, the degradation of the posidonia sea grass meadows and the sea polluted with sewage, we have seen wells dry up with farmers unable to irrigate their crops and with Formentera suffering a state of water emergency. Meanwhile, the authorities continue to allow the watering of the tropical gardens of luxury homes, more villas with swimming pools to be built, and our subterranean water reserves to be used by the tourist facilities.

This summer, four cruise ships arrived on the same day, we saw numerous mega yachts cruising our waters, while our airport ranks third in Europe for private jet arrivals. These produce devastating environmental and social impacts for our small island, which suffers from the highest level of human pressure in all the Balearic Islands as well as the entire country.

This summer, Ibiza made international headlines due to the large number of makeshift settlements where workers are obliged to live since they cannot afford rent, not even holding down two jobs. This dystopian situation contrasts starkly with the continued construction of luxury villas across the island.

The uncontrolled expansion of tourist housing, both legal and illegal, has led to an exponential rise in rental and home purchase prices, causing real impoverishment for families, many of whom have been forced to leave the island. How many of us have friends and family who have had to leave Ibiza or Formentera for this reason?

For years, we’ve been told that tourism generates wealth, prosperity, and progress. But after so many record-breaking tourist seasons, where is that wealth? Why do the residents of Ibiza and Formentera continue to lose quality of life? Why do we have increasingly precarious social services, especially in the healthcare and education sector? Do we really believe that luxury tourism will bring better results when we already know that this type of tourism has massive ecological impacts and makes our living conditions even more expensive and precarious?

From the "Canviem el Rumb" Platform, we believe it is still possible to steer the situation in the right direction.

That's why:

• We want to limit the arrival of airplanes to the airport and ban private jets, cruise ships, as well as mega yachts and large vessels.
• We want to limit the number of rental vehicles and improve public transportation.
• We demand that the authorities regulate housing and rental prices, by declaring all municipalities in the Pitiusas as tourism-stressed areas.
• We want to eradicate illegal tourist housing and gradually phase out the legal tourist housing so that these homes can be recovered for residential use and long-term rentals.
• We want restrictions on the buying of homes by non-residents.
• We want to put urban development on hold and to maintain the current moratorium on the building of new tourist installations.
• We want to recover our public spaces and end the privatization and commercialization of our beaches.
• We want the water consumption of the tourist sector to be audited and controlled and an end to their privileges. We demand a radical change in water management.
• We want to limit the organisation of major events to those that genuinely benefit Ibiza's society and do not harm the environment.
• We want to protect local businesses by limiting licenses for tourist establishments and regulating the rental prices of commercial installations.
• We want to stop using public money to fund the promotion of Ibiza and Formentera as tourist destinations.
• We want to stop the use of public funds for the building of oversize infrastructures and facilities in order to meet the demands of the tourism sector. Let tourism pay for the roads, sewage plants, and desalination plants!
• We demand fair and dignified working conditions for tourism sector workers.
• We want effective measures to protect and conserve our natural areas.
• We want public policies aimed at meeting the leisure and rest needs of the local population in the Pitiusas.

Today, we want to call on everyone to join this change in direction. Tourism degrowth is a demand we make to the authorities, but it is also a bold choice we must all make together. With today's demonstration, and with all the work we have done and the work ahead, we want to open a path full of hope. A path we are beginning with other regions facing similar problems. We are already working with our sister islands: with the "Vía Menorca" and "Less Tourism, More Life" platforms in Mallorca. We are meeting with platforms from the Canary Islands, Valencia, Alicante, Granada, Malaga, Seville, Córdoba, Cádiz, Jerez, Madrid, Santiago, Vigo, Asturias, Cantabria, Donosti, the Pyrenees, and Barcelona!

Get ready because we expect a hot autumn!

Today, more than ever, we need to engage in a collective act of memory. Let’s remember what life was like before the unlimited and destructive growth of tourism. Let’s imagine the life that could be. Let’s also draw inspiration from past victories in our history; the fight to protect Ses Salines, the struggle against the destruction of Cala d'Hort, and the fight against offshore oil prospection.

As the song goes: «Sa serena cau menuda i arriba que tot té fi». Perhaps, we want to believe that the years of predatory tourism in Ibiza and Formentera have already reached their end. Let’s organize together to change course! Let’s set limits on tourism!

CANVIEM EL RUMB! POSEM LÍMITS AL TURISME!

Enllaços d'interés:

– Manifest: https://my.liberaforms.org/manifest-canviem-el-rumb-eif

– Calendari: https://eif.convoca.la

– Crowdfunding: https://opencollective.com/canviem-el-rumb-eif

– Telegram: https://t.me/CanviemElRumb

– Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/canviemelrumb

– Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/CanviemElRumb

– Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/canviemelrumb