Government delegate calls police charges 'excessive' after Palma anti-tourism protest, sparking institutional crisis

A massive demonstration against tourism overcrowding in Palma de Mallorca on Sunday afternoon escalated into an unprecedented institutional crisis between the Spanish government's top representative in the Balearic Islands and the National Police force he oversees. What began as a largely peaceful march of around 25,000 people, according to National Police figures, ended with clashes between a small group of protesters and riot police, leaving at least eight people injured and one person detained.

Tensions flare at the final rally point

The protest had been calm throughout its route until reaching Ses Voltes park, at the foot of Palma's cathedral, where organisers planned to read a manifesto. Police sources told Europa Press that the atmosphere soured due to access controls set up to prevent overcrowding in the 'very small' space. Some attendees became 'angry,' shook plastic barriers, and insulted officers. Police stated they asked an organiser to explain the access arrangements over the loudspeaker, but the person instead told the crowd there was plenty of room and police were blocking entry. A group of around 200 people then attempted to breach the police cordon, some jumping into a small artificial lake or climbing onto rocks.

According to the official police report cited by La Razón, the first confrontations occurred when officers asked promoters to hold the manifesto reading in Parc de la Mar to avoid the risks of using Ses Voltes, but the proposal was rejected. Filters were set up at access points to allow people through gradually, but some protesters shook fences and pushed officers. The report states that radical groups later concentrated near Avenida Antoni Maura and Paseo Sagrera, intensifying the throwing of stones, bottles, and other objects, and damaging police vehicles. Five officers were injured, and one of the most serious incidents involved an attack on a tourist couple and an officer who came to their aid; the alleged attacker was later arrested.

Delegate calls charges 'disproportionate'

Alfonso Rodríguez Badal, the central government delegate in the Balearics and the political head of the State security forces on the islands, held a press conference on Monday morning. He acknowledged that some of the police charges were 'excessive and involved a use of violence that did not correspond to the risk the protesters could pose.' He described some images of the police action as 'unacceptable' and requested a comprehensive report from the chief of the National Police in the Balearics, José Antonio Puebla, to clarify events and determine whether disciplinary measures were warranted.

I will continue working to clarify what happened, to find out whether we need to promote the necessary improvements so that this does not happen again.

Rodríguez ruled out resigning despite calls to do so. His criticism surprised the force, given that he is ultimately the political authority responsible for the security operation.

Police unions push back hard

The Unified Police Union (SUP), the largest in the National Police, issued a stern statement defending the officers. The union insisted the intervention was 'proportionate' and stressed that when a group tries to break a police cordon, access restricted areas, or assault officers by throwing objects, 'the Police are legally obliged to restore public order.' The SUP went further, warning that inaction would also carry 'disciplinary, criminal, and political consequences' for the officers, while publicly congratulating those deployed.

Leaked details of the police report describe a 'radical minority' throwing stones, paving stones, and sticks, injuring four officers. The report states that officers were forced to fire blank rounds and charge the protesters in self-defence during the most tense moments. Police sources also confirmed that an investigation would be opened into footage showing an officer striking a photojournalist on the head with a baton.

Political fallout widens

MÉS per Mallorca, a left-wing nationalist party integrated into the Sumar parliamentary group, demanded Rodríguez's immediate resignation. Its coordinator, Lluís Apesteguia, called the police action 'unjustifiable and disproportionate' and accused the Government Delegation of trying to 'repress and criminalise' the mobilisation. He warned the central government that it would lose MÉS's support in Congress as long as it 'beats people who want to live decently in their own home.'

This was against the right to protest, civil rights, and press freedom.

The Consell de Mallorca's tourism councillor, Guillem Ginard, also demanded explanations from Rodríguez, while noting that the overwhelming majority of attendees demonstrated peacefully. Organisers from the platform 'Menys Turisme, Més Vida' added that the National Police had warned them only two days before the event that only 2,000 people would be allowed into Ses Voltes and offered no alternative, while Palma City Hall refused a last-minute venue change.

Broader anti-tourism sentiment

Apesteguia linked the police charges to the arrest of two activists in Santa Maria the previous week, arguing both actions were part of a strategy to criminalise protest. He accused the Socialist Party of 'cynicism' for publicly supporting containment of tourism saturation while pushing for the expansion of Palma and Ibiza airports. He also criticised the conservative Partido Popular for 'immobilism' and for maintaining an economic model that he claimed harms citizens for the benefit of a few.

Ginard countered that the Consell de Mallorca has 'radically' changed tourism management since the current legislature began, highlighting a zero-growth target for tourist beds, 4.9 million euros from the Sustainable Tourism Tax allocated to combating illegal tourist rentals, and a future cap on vehicles entering Mallorca. Nearly 90,000 tourist beds were created on the island between 2015 and 2023, according to Ginard.