Settlements with sea views. The Gesa building, surrounded.

Settlements with sea views. The Gesa building, surrounded. | CLICK

Patrick CzelinskiPalma 21/02/2025 10:09
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For decades, Mallorca has been synonymous with sun-drenched beaches, luxury resorts, and a booming tourism industry. But beneath the island’s postcard-perfect façade, a stark social crisis is unfolding – one that can no longer be ignored. Makeshift wooden shelters, tent encampments, and clusters of trailers are becoming an increasingly common sight across the island, exposing a deepening humanitarian emergency. Palma alone is now home to 37 such informal settlements, a staggering figure that reflects both the soaring cost of living and the growing number of residents who can no longer afford a place to call home.

Once confined to the shadows, poverty in Mallorca is now impossible to overlook. Under bridges, on vacant lots, and even near the airport, families and individuals are resorting to desperate measures. Sanitary conditions are appalling, social isolation is worsening, and a sense of hopelessness is taking hold.

The roots of the crisis are clear. Skyrocketing rents, rampant real estate speculation, and policies that have long prioritized the interests of developers and the tourism industry have driven many locals to the margins. Even long-term residents are being displaced—sometimes under shocking circumstances. In one case, an elderly couple was suddenly evicted from their home of nearly 50 years, after their landlord falsely claimed that the still-living tenant had died.

The growing divide between wealth and poverty on the island is impossible to ignore. While affluent foreign investors pour millions into luxury villas, an increasing number of Mallorcans are struggling just to get by. The tourism industry is booming, but its benefits remain concentrated among the few—while a growing underclass finds itself in tents and makeshift shelters.

The political response, critics argue, has been woefully inadequate. Instead of addressing the root causes of the crisis, officials have focused on banning trailer homes and carrying out evictions—policies that do little to provide real solutions.

What Mallorca desperately needs, experts say, is a serious commitment to social housing, strict rent regulations, and policies that ensure middle-class families can still afford to live on the island. Without meaningful intervention, the situation will only deteriorate further.

For years, the hardships of Mallorca’s most vulnerable residents remained hidden from view. That is no longer the case. The island’s poverty crisis is now unfolding in plain sight—and the time for action is long overdue.