Around 200 traders and restaurateurs took to the streets of Manacor on Monday to demonstrate against the lockdown, which they say is causing serious harm to their businesses.
They gathered in Plaza de sa Bassa just before 20:00, but there were no banners and nobody was shouting, instead there was the steady sound of applause to show unity in the face of an unprecedented economic crisis.
Right from the start the Restaurant Sector has opposed the Health Department’s restrictions which ban customers from eating or drinking inside and are only allowed on terraces, but even then capacity is limited to 50%.
“We estimate that 30-40% of places have had to close because they either don’t have a terrace or they have very few tables," says Tom Riera of Karma Bar who claims around 97 establishments are supporting the protest. "We must all be united and demand that different measures be taken to fight the pandemic, that don’t destroy the economy as is happening now and of course we must invest in health care, but we also need to help other sectors.”
Traders also object to the lockdown and claim that sales have been minimum during the last twelve days of confinement, but they still have to pay rent, taxes and wages for workers, many of whom have had to return to ERTE.
Manacor Mayor Miquel Oliver has appealed to the Government to rethink the lockdown perimeter and also complained that not enough measures are being taken to ensure the closure of the city.