Second round of protests on Lanzarote

A second round of protests against the effects of mass tourism took place on the Canaries on the 20th of October, this time in the major resorts on the islands.

The organisers of the April protests, Canarias Tiene Un Límite (Canaries Has A Limit), called for further protests, which would target the main tourist resorts rather than the capitals this time. On Lanzarote, the march took place along the Avenida de las Playas in Puerto del Carmen.

Organisers issued a statement saying: “Five months after the historic demonstrations of 20th April, politicians and institutions continue to support a predatory tourism model. They continue to promote unlimited growth, while the population continues to suffer the consequences: more roads, more hotels, more tourists, more destruction of ecosystems, more precarious work and more poverty. Their hypocrisy is clear: they talked a lot about “rethinking the model” but problems have not stopped getting worse…”

Once again, the protests were not aimed at tourists, although the decision to hold them in the resorts suggests that the organisers have been paying attention to the reports of previous Spanish protests that have appeared in the international press.

Perhaps in response to this, a counterprotest was organised by a local businessman with the aim of supporting the tourist industry and reassuring visitors that they were welcome on the island.

Since the first protest, the Canarian Government has rejected calls for a tourist tax, while its refusal to introduce a moratorium on holiday lets has led to an avalanche of applications before its restrictive new law comes into operation.

The housing crisis remains an important factor in the dissatisfaction of islanders, and although some social housing projects have finally been green-lighted, they are not going to solve the problem any time soon.

On Lanzarote, the constant water cuts that are being suffered by rural areas, while the profitable tourist resorts remain unaffected, have also fuelled anger. Last month, a group of activists entered the Hotel Papagayo Arena carrying placards saying, “Our Water Is In Your Pool” and filled bottles with water from the swimming pool.

The protestors handed out leaflets explaining that the hotel had been declared illegal and stating, “If you stay in this hotel, you are complicit in an environmental crime.”