Latest news with #comunidades
The Independent
13-06-2025
- The Independent
Thousands to march on streets of Mallorca in overtourism protest this weekend
A Spanish campaign group, which led a large-scale protest against overtourism in Mallorca last year, has announced it will once again take to the streets of Palma to demand 'stop the touristification' of their communities. Menys Turisme Més Vida (Less Tourism, More Life), an organisation which has led mass protests against the increasing number of tourists jetting off to the island each summer, has revealed it will yet again take to the streets to demonstrate this weekend. Protesters are being called to gather in Plaça Espanya, a centrally located square in Mallorca's capital, Palma, at 6pm on Sunday, 15 June. Demonstrators will then march through some of Palma's most notable streets, and have been encouraged to bring whistles, drums, water pistols and sound equipment. 'Or anything else that comes to mind, be original!' the protest information poster said. The group was behind a large anti-tourist protest that filled the streets of Palma de Mallorca last summer, demonstrating against skyrocketing housing prices in the wake of a tourist boom on the popular holiday island. Around 10,000 protesters showed up to take part on 21 July 2024, with people walking carrying models of planes, cruise ships and posters reading 'no to mass tourism' and 'stop private jets'. Mallorca, along with other Spanish destinations, is a popular summer hotspot for tourists seeking hot temperatures, sandy beach resorts and villages tucked away at the foothills of limestone mountains. This year, Menys Turisme Més Vida said it will be holding another protest on 15 June, with 60 other anti-tourism groups, trade unions and environmental organisations taking part. Speaking of the successful turnout of last year's mass protest, it said that it will again be protesting to make it 'clear that our territories are not for sale'. The group has called for limits to be put on tourism and the need for a strategy that will not exploit 'the territory, its resources and the marginalisation of residents and their vital needs for the benefit of tourist capital'. In a statement, the campaigners claimed that the tourist industry impoverishes people, makes it hard to access housing and diverts focus from the public sector. The organisation also draws attention to the environmental impact of overtourism, including pollution and carbon emissions. It called out the tourism sector for describing businesses as sustainable, stating that this is a 'manipulation' of language and a denial of the issues. Areas such as Sóller, Artà and Palma are already being affected by tourists, the campaign group said, saying daily life has become 'unbearable'. 'Entire roads and paths cut off by tourist-sports events, record numbers of cruise passengers, streets, squares and markets saturated with tourists, occupied and commercialised, and the situation of the housing problem increasingly bloody and without solutions,' it said. Menys Turisme Més Vida followed up with a reposted statement on its social media that said while 'Mallorca is not against tourism', it cannot be a 'theme park open 24 hours a day'. 'Of course we want you to come. To get lost in the narrow streets of the old town, to sit by the sea in winter, to taste a freshly made ensaimada or listen to Mallorcan in a market. We want to share all that. But without meaning that we stop being who we are,' it said. The group said it will be standing in solidarity with hospitality workers in negotiations for better working environments during the high season, as there is usually an 'exploitation' of the working class during this period. 'We are taking to the streets again to say 'enough', and we will do it as many times as necessary,' it concluded.
Reuters
06-06-2025
- Climate
- Reuters
Eruption at Guatemala's Fuego volcano forces over 700 to evacuate
MEXICO CITY, June 6 (Reuters) - An ongoing eruption at central Guatemala's Fuego volcano has caused over 700 people living in nearby communities to evacuate, the country's disaster agency CONRED said on Friday. The volcano, located some 18 km (11 miles) from the city of Antigua, was producing a column of smoke and lava stream that was accumulating around its crater, Guatemala's seismology agency added. Authorities said they continued to monitor the situation.
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Yahoo
From hotspot to flashpoint: how tourism pushed Barcelona to breaking point, and how social movements are fighting back
On April 27 2024, near the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, a touring bus was blocked, sprayed with water pistols, and a banner bearing the slogan 'let's put out the tourism fire' was stuck to its front. It was a headline-grabbing protest against the stranglehold tourism holds over the city, and underscored growing tensions between touristification processes and an increasingly vocal local backlash. Large-scale protests have made Barcelona synonymous with social resistance to the negative impacts of predatory and extractive tourism, but it is far from alone: popular destinations such the Canary Islands, Málaga, and the Balearic Islands have all seen massive protests against the excesses of tourism over the last year. People are fed up, and the writing is quite literally on the wall – tourist apartments graffitied with the slogan 'tourists go home' have now become an almost ubiquitous sight in many Spanish cities. However, it is not individual tourists that are to blame, but rather the excessive reliance on tourism which has, over several decades, gradually pushed countless residents out of their homes and neighbourhoods. But how did we get here? As international travel rebounded in the wake of COVID-19 lockdowns, Barcelona and other Mediterranean cities saw tourists return in remarkable numbers. This led to mounting social unrest, as local communities became increasingly frustrated with how tourism has reshaped urban spaces at their expense. Residents' concerns range from housing shortages and job insecurity to environmental damage. The privatisation of public spaces is also high on the agenda in Barcelona, exacerbated by high-profile events, such as the 2024 America's Cup and Formula One Grand Prix, which brought little benefit to local residents. The ongoing backlash signals a 'we've had enough' moment that can no longer be dismissed as mere inconvenience or NIMBYism. Instead, it reflects structural inequalities and deeper conflicts over urban space, social justice, and the power dynamics that underpin the tourism sector's unchecked growth. Leer más: Anti-tourism activism in Barcelona traces back to the mid-2010s, when neighbourhoods like Barceloneta first challenged tourism's role in displacing residents. Since then, groups such as the Neighbourhood Assembly for Tourism Degrowth (ABDT) have pushed back against policies fostering excessive reliance on the tourism economy. The ABDT notably prefers the term 'touristification' to 'overtourism'. According to them, the concept of 'overtourism' risks depoliticising the issue, framing it as a simple problem of too many visitors. Instead, they say, the problems are a result of the structural inequalities tied to capitalist accumulation, tourism's extractive nature, and a sector that funnels community wealth into private hands. What distinguishes this current wave of activism from its predecessors is a shift from blunt opposition to providing organised, constructive proposals. At one major demonstration in Barcelona in July 2024, activists presented a manifesto calling for clear measures to reduce economic dependence on tourism, and for a transition towards an eco-social economy. Key demands included ending public subsidies for tourism promotion, regulating short-term rentals to prevent housing loss, cutting cruise ship traffic, and improving labour conditions with fair wages and stable work schedules. The manifesto also urged leaders to diversify the economy away from tourism, repurpose tourist facilities for social use, and develop programs to support precarious workers. The movement shows no signs of slowing down. Over the weekend of April 27 2025, exactly one year after the water pistol episode, the Southern Europe against Touristification Network gathered in Barcelona to agree on a shared political agenda. They also convened a coordinated demonstration across multiple cities in Southern Europe for June 15 2025. Anti-tourist activism is often dismissed by those with a vested interest in tourism, labelled as either 'tourismphobia' or 'NIMBYism' – a desire to protect one's own local area from unwanted development (derived from the acronym of 'not in my back yard'). These labels ignore the fact that tourism-driven economies most strongly impact marginalised groups with little political power, such as tenants, migrants and precarious seasonal workers, and disenfranchised young people. Social movements in Mediterranean cities have taken this to heart, broadening anti-tourism activism to address more general government inaction on housing, labour rights, climate action, and the defence of public space. These movements confront the complex, interconnected challenges of touristification, including social division of labour, gender inequalities, and capital concentration. They also, importantly, are living proof that many residents want to prioritise community wellbeing over economic growth. Leer más: Both policy makers and academics are falling short in addressing protesters' concerns. Countless studies focus on topics like space management, green tourism, or tourism as a tool of empowerment. Few, however, explore the experiences of people living in tourism hotspots, or how the sector produces precarious labour conditions, social exclusion and environmental injustice. As a result, current policies mostly aim at managing visitors or transport, not at curbing tourism's growth or addressing power imbalances. This limited approach fails to solve the root causes of the problem, and will only perpetuate inequalities. Beyond urban transformations, tourism's reliance on precarious labour is a pressing issue. Many jobs in the sector are low-paid, unstable and highly seasonal. While international organisations and cities' authorities promote tourism as a driver of economic prosperity and job creation, the question of 'what kind of jobs?' is too often overlooked. Going forward, more grounded, intersectional research is needed, especially longitudinal and ethnographic studies that examine the class, gender, and environmental impacts of tourism. This will, in turn, inform policy-making at all levels, and guide it away from the current predatory, growth-first mindset that is fuelling social conflict and inequalities. Rather than viewing protests as isolated single-issue nuisances, they should be understood as part of broader struggles for social justice. This movement shows that co-constructed alternatives and proposals need to prioritise community wellbeing over economic growth. Rethinking urban tourism means reimagining cities as places where residents can thrive, not just survive. To achieve this, we must address the deeper inequalities at the heart of touristification processes. Este artículo fue publicado originalmente en The Conversation, un sitio de noticias sin fines de lucro dedicado a compartir ideas de expertos académicos. Lee mas: Barcelona protests: holiday hotspots need fairer tourism for local communities White Lotus hotels target gen Z travellers – but luxury resorts don't reflect their travel habits Governments shouldn't chase growth at all costs. The harms of over tourism show why Claudio Milano has received funding from grant RYC2021-032437-I by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033, and from the European Union NextGenerationEU/PRTR. Antonio Paolo Russo has received funding from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Universities, I+D+i projects 'Retos Investigación' Ref. PID2020-112525RB-I00, MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033. Marina Novelli no recibe salario, ni ejerce labores de consultoría, ni posee acciones, ni recibe financiación de ninguna compañía u organización que pueda obtener beneficio de este artículo, y ha declarado carecer de vínculos relevantes más allá del cargo académico citado.
Reuters
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Deforestation in Colombia falls 33% in first quarter
BOGOTA, June 5 (Reuters) - Deforestation in Colombia fell 33% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2025 to 27,052 hectares due to agreements with communities and a greater presence of the state and the Armed Forces, the environment ministry said on Thursday. Colombia is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world and is home to a myriad of plant and animal species, though it loses swathes of tree cover every year to deforestation.
Washington Post
04-06-2025
- General
- Washington Post
From ‘Tudo bem?' to ‘Gracias,' a growing share of US residents speak a language other than English
Spanish may be the most spoken language at home behind English , except in three U.S. states, but the second most-popular, non-English languages used in each state show off the diversity of the United States in unexpected places, whether it's Korean in Alabama or Vietnamese in Kansas. Almost 22% of U.S. residents age 5 and older spoke a language other than English at home, double the share from four decades ago, according to figures released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau, and it varied by state. In California, 44% of residents spoke a language other than English at home, while it was 2.5% in West Virginia.
