Arima Medina, spokesperson for 20-O: "We are approaching a social and environmental collapse"

The demonstration, which will start this coming Sunday from the Plaza de Las Naciones, is being held again because "the issues we proposed, which were common sense, have been ignored," says the spokesperson for the 'Lanzarote has a limit' collective.

October 16 2024 (16:51 WEST)
Updated in October 17 2024 (07:26 WEST)
April 20th Demonstration in Arrecife (Photos: Juan Mateos)
April 20th Demonstration in Arrecife (Photos: Juan Mateos)

The spokesperson for Lanzarote tiene un límite, the platform that organizes the demonstration on October 20th to again request that measures be taken regarding mass tourism, has answered some questions about the event in an interview on the program Buenos días, Lanzarote de Radio Lanzarote - Onda Cero

During this week, the collective has focused on spreading the word about the demonstration on social media and putting up posters on different streets of the island. The mobilization will start at 12:00 noon from the Plaza de Las Naciones and will go to El Varadero.

After the mobilization on April 20th in which thousands of people took to the streets, Arima Medina states that "it was a response that surprised us all, but the truth is that there have been no real changes".

"The issues we proposed were common sense and have been ignored, not to mention that the participatory process created by the Government of the Canary Islands and the island councils is a farce, nothing has been done to try to fix the housing problem or implement a tourist tax," she says.

In addition, Medina has revealed the reason why this concentration is being held again. "In Lanzarote, we are immersed in a spectacular water crisis, and a single protest is usually not enough to achieve a substantial change, so we considered it appropriate to insist again that we are here and that we must take care of what we have," declares the spokesperson.

She also insists that the demonstration is not against tourism or the sector. "Many of us involved in this movement work in the tourism sector, and we are absolutely not against tourism, and even less against the workers. What needs to be taken care of in Lanzarote is its natural environment, its beaches, and its biodiversity, which are truly suffering a great deal of deterioration, and we could die of success," she says.

"There may come a point where tourism stops coming or becomes very massified, and the tourist who is more interested in getting to know the nature or landscapes of the island stops coming. I work in a hotel, and some clients who have been coming for many years tell me that it's incredible the queues there are, more than two hours to enter the Timanfaya National Park," says Medina.

Regarding the demonstration being held in Puerto del Carmen, the spokesperson expresses that "it's true that it may seem provocative to hold the demonstration in a tourist area, but going to the Cabildo in April didn't achieve anything, and this area is the epicenter of what we are denouncing. Furthermore, the water cuts "are occurring in areas that are not touristy, so we are very interested because there are tourists who also give importance to this issue and are aware".

In addition, she continues that "that's where the most extreme inequality materializes because it's impossible to pay rent in a tourist area, and the cost of living is higher, the job insecurity that occurs especially in some sectors of the hotels, and therefore we try to denounce the inequality caused by mass tourism".  

At the end of the demonstration, a manifesto will be read to understand what drives the mobilization. "This type of demonstration moves many diverse people because some come for the issue of housing and others for the water cuts," she indicates.

"Let's remember that Lanzarote last year received 3 million tourists when the island has a population of 150,000 inhabitants, it's crazy, and we came out to say that we have to take care of it because we are approaching a social and environmental collapse," Medina concludes.

April 20th demonstration against mass tourism in Lanzarote. Photo: Andrea Domínguez.
Lanzarote calls the 20-O demonstration against mass tourism in Puerto del Carmen
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