The first video released by Banc de Temps went viral. | Banc de Temps de Sencelles

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The Banc de Temps collective in Sencelles prompted the first large protest in Mallorca last year. A video that went viral highlighted a housing crisis in this village of some 4,000 people. Tourism was identified as a reason for this crisis as was an increasing gentrification caused by foreign buyers as well as the general increase in housing prices in Mallorca. The group organised the protest in Palma in May and expected around 2,000 people to take part. Five times that number turned out.

Housing and tourism protest in Mallorca
The protest in Palma on May 25 last year. Photo: Pere Bota.

A new video was released on Monday along with a statement insisting that the situation has got worse since last spring. "Almost a year ago we were shouting loudly. But this has done nothing. Thousands of people in the streets, demanding the right to live in Mallorca without having to be rich.

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"And now? We are even worse off. Rents are skyrocketing, people are being expelled, desperation is growing. Meanwhile, they look the other way. We don’t want anyone else to leave. We are again saying enough is enough."

Testimonies in the video include one from a woman who says that three families with children in her son's class have left the island.

Three others: "I have two children and I don't know if I'll be able to pay the rent they're asking in Mallorca." "The landlady has told me that I might have to leave in January. Ever since she told me, I've been anxious and afraid of not finding anything I can afford." "Prices keep going up. And it seems like nobody cares. We don't want anyone else to leave. We can't accept it. In the end, there won't be anyone left here."