A hunger strike launched last month in Tenerife as part of mass tourist protests has been called off after 20 days because officials have shown “zero interest” in their plight, strikers said.
Four of the six activists who stopped eating announced their decision yesterday afternoon in the town square of La Laguna, located in the north of the island.
The other two were not present and were said to be “recovering.”
One of the six, who was not officially named by the Canarias Se Agota protest platform to which they are affiliated, accused the Canary Islands regional government of paying them “zero interest.”
But he told supporters at a popular assembly after taking his turn to speak, looking visibly haggard after his 20-day strike: “We are surprised by the social response and that is the best we can get out of this.” “I have a lot of hope for the future.”
A man greets people on hunger strike during a demonstration for a change in the tourism model in the Canary Islands, in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain, on April 20, 2024.
Members of the ‘Canaria se exhausts’ movement protest against the construction of a hotel near La Tejita beach and other mass tourism infrastructure, in La Laguna, on the Spanish Canary island of Tenerife, on April 13, 2024.
‘Go Home Tourist’ is scrawled in English on a wall beneath a property development sign in Nou Levante, Mallorca, a neighborhood that has seen a massive influx of foreign buyers in recent years.
Protesters packed Weyler Square in Santa Cruz, the capital of Tenerife, the starting point of a march on the popular British tourist island, on April 20.
Canarias Se Agota said in a message after the action was stopped: ‘This is the society we want. One who organizes and fights bravely to defend our land.’
And he adds: “We will move forward with determination and firmness until we achieve the Canary Islands that we dream of.”
The hunger strike began on April 11 in front of a church in one of the main squares of La Laguna. It was announced when it started as an “indefinite” strike.
Activists and their supporters said they wanted regional governors to adopt a more sustainable tourism model to combat problems such as pollution, traffic jams and a lack of affordable housing, which they have linked to mass tourism.
They also requested the stoppage of two tourism projects, including one that consists of the construction of a five-star hotel on one of the last virgin beaches in Tenerife.
Víctor Martín, spokesperson for Canarias Se Agota, which translates into English as “Canary Islands on the brink of the abyss,” said before beginning: “The hunger strike is indefinite and will continue until the two macro-projects we are fighting against are stopped forever. and the regional agreement agrees in writing to sit down and talk to us about a tourism moratorium.
“A tragedy could happen and someone could die if the government doesn’t listen.”
Just over a week after its start, on April 20, thousands of protesters took to the streets of the Canary Islands to protest against the problems caused by mass tourism and demand that their politicians take action.
The protesters made their voices heard under the slogan: ‘Canarias has a limit’, which in English translates as ‘The Canary Islands have a limit’.
Last week the same words appeared painted in white on the asphalt of one of the access roads to Teide in Tenerife.
Activists began a hunger strike on April 11 to demand a moratorium on mass tourism in the Canary Islands (pictured: members of the ‘Canaria se exhausts’ movement at a protest in Tenerife on April 13)
Hunger strikers sit in wheelchairs during a demonstration for a change in the tourism model in the Canary Islands, in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain, on April 20, 2024.
Thousands of residents protested in Tenerife, Canary Islands, on April 20 to demand the government temporarily limit tourist arrivals.
The islands are threatened by sea pollution, traffic jams and a lack of cheap and affordable housing linked to rising property prices due to Airbnb-style vacation rentals.
The islands are threatened by sea pollution, traffic jams and a lack of cheap and affordable housing linked to rising property prices due to Airbnb-style vacation rentals.
Another message painted on the road read: “Moratoria turistica” – “Tourist moratorium” in English.
Tenerife, an island popular with British tourists, has been at the front line of protests linked to the type of mass tourism it attracts.
Just before that, a prominent Tenerife politician urged British and Irish tourists looking for cheap, all-inclusive sun breaks to go on holiday elsewhere.
Carlos Tarife, vice mayor of the island’s capital, Santa Cruz, said tourists interested in staying in their hotels with their mandatory wristbands should book places like the Dominican Republic.
Graffiti in English left on walls and benches in and around Palm Mar, southern Tenerife, early last month included “My misery, your paradise” and “The average salary in the Canary Islands is 1,200 euros.”
In an apparent reaction from the United Kingdom, a response left in English on a wall next to the message “Tourists go home” read: “Fuck you, we pay your wages.”
Canarias Se Agota has always insisted it has nothing to do with the graffiti that has appeared in parts of Tenerife in recent weeks and has accused regional politicians of blaming them for tourismphobia as part of a “dirty tricks” campaign.
The Mallorcan hotel director, Joan Pla, recently warned that the massive tourist protests in the Canary Islands could be repeated in the Balearic Islands.
He stated that the problem is the number of houses built for local residents that are bought by foreigners as holiday properties.
And he complained that islands like Mallorca, where he lives, had to deal with the influx of too many people at certain times of the year.
Pla’s comments, made during an interview with a local newspaper, come as Benidorm hotel bosses admitted they were “very concerned” about the Canary Islands protests and showed there were serious issues that needed to be addressed.