Tag Archives: Economy

Homeless people, empty homes: 13/06/2026

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It is estimated that in Menorca there are approximately 114,000 tourist beds, of which around 54,000 correspond to hotels and apartments, and another 30,000 correspond to authorised homes (most of which were previously used as residential housing). The remaining 30,000 places are offered in homes without a tourist licence.

When basic needs are left solely in the hands of the market, they end up going to whoever can pay the most. In recent years, we have seen that the number of tourists visiting the island has increased by around 80% in 15 years. Most of this significant increase is being accommodated in houses.

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Residents 1, Urban developments 0 – 13/06/26

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It is difficult to get people who are spending a few days on holiday to understand that the place they are visiting has water problems. Perhaps they could get an idea if the surrounding context suggested it, but that is not the case.

The progressive loss of drinking water in Menorca is directly related to the economic development model that is being promoted. The resident population is making efforts to reduce consumption, but spending is increasing in tourist areas.

On Saturday, June 13, at 7:30 p.m., a protest action has been called in Biosphere Square in Maó. A great deal is at stake for the immediate future. Please help spread the call.

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Sustainable distortion

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Almost 40 years have passed since the concept of sustainable development was spread worldwide by the United Nations. However, fears about the distortion of the term have gradually come true, and there are still people who equate it with sustained growth.

Ancient philosophers already said that when words lose their meaning, citizens lose their freedom.

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I would like to return to Menorca: 13/06/26

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Official statistics show that Menorca has grown by 80% in the number of tourists over the last 15 years. Increasing overcrowding is not a feeling, it is a reality that is degrading the island in various ways. We already know that this path leads to the models of Ibiza and Mallorca.

But there are people who do not accept this destiny and will take to the streets to protest on Saturday 13 June, at 7.30 pm, at Plaça Biosfera in Maó. This is a new call by Via Menorca, the campaign that aims for the island to once again find a differentiated path, as it had for many years.

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‘If we are from a dry land’: 13/06/26

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They say that when ants all set in motion, no one has given the order. It is not decided by the queen, as one might suppose, nor by the larger specimens, who usually act as soldiers. Nor is it decided by the worker ants, who carry out many different tasks. They decide to act when certain information has been verified and they clearly see that a joint response is needed.

The new action that has been scheduled for the evening of Saturday 13 June, within the Via Menorca campaign, incorporates the symbolism of ants. Fed up with seeing the setbacks the island is experiencing, the increasing threats and the empty speeches without content, the ants have decided to leave the anthill.

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Profitable devotion

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The world is a combination of many viewpoints. Each person focuses on the part that seems most suggestive to them.

Some read the islets surrounding the main island as laboratories of evolution, where the original lizard has taken on its own colours and learned surprising survival strategies, but for others they are potential hunting grounds.

In the past, those who managed to kill one of the last specimens of the monk seal took photographs, proud of an achievement that today we interpret as testimony to the extinction of a spectacular species from our seas.

Cultures and geographies shape the way we see what surrounds us. There was a time when the habit of understanding life as an experience decided by an ethereal and external being began to give way to more empirical interpretations. In the end, it seems that we have chosen to replace the gods of the past with the economic religion.

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Renewable energies (2): Zoning and energy sovereignty

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This note is the second part of a reflection on the relationship between renewable energy and land use. It describes the situation in Menorca, which can be very different from other islands as well as from mainland Spain. For this reason, it is not appropriate to assume that what happens elsewhere is being replicated here, because that is not the case.

Over the past 20 years, several wind energy projects have been proposed in Menorca but have been halted for environmental reasons. At the same time, significant progress has been made in zoning suitable areas for photovoltaic energy, ensuring that spaces with environmental or landscape protection status are not considered suitable.

Anyone interested in understanding the differences and criteria applied in Menorca is encouraged to read the full text presented here.

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The territorial corrupt practices of Menorca in carnival version

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Many people took part last Sunday in the carnival troupe organised within the framework of the Via Menorca campaign.

An initial group, dressed in suits and ties, carrying briefcases and documents, offered favourable reports and licences while €500 notes were exchanged. There was also a spectacular swimming pool (or perhaps it was a cistern?). A large roundabout related to Talayotic Menorca was also present, as well as several pages of the Island Territorial Plan.

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19 February, the housing issue to be debated at Ateneu de Maó

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The debate series «Viure dins del dònut» [«Living within the doughnut»] will approach the housing issue this Thursday, 19 February, with the aim of analysing the structural causes of the current situation and reflecting on possible future pathways.

The session, which will consider the phenomenon from different perspectives, will focus on the role of public policies in Menorca, the recent evolution of the real estate market and the challenges posed by a context of growing scarcity.

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Roofless progress

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The Roman Empire had one of its main ports at the mouth of the Tiber River. Intense trade and the movement of people generated an important settlement near the capital. But everything went into decline when rainfall began to bring in large quantities of sediment.

It had always rained. But the enormous deforestation carried out in nearby forests to extract firewood resulted in unprecedented erosion. The port filled with earth and ships could no longer operate. Ignoring limits ended up sinking a prosperous economy.

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