The radical youth group Arran has released a statement defending its graffiti on the walls of the Balearic tourism ministry.
Under a heading of 'Tourism impoverishes us, the government persecutes us', they state that criticism of the Balearic Government is in response to the role that it and previous governments, including those of the left, have played in the touristification of Mallorca.
They maintain that people's quality of life has lost out to the interests of the tourism industry and that a monoculture economic model based on tourism only generates "misery" for working people. There is harsh criticism of official condemnation of graffiti that directly targeted the government, while the same government ignored other protests. "Their objective is not to protect the tourism ministry, but rather to silence a message that shows them as guilty of our precariousness."
Arran accuse the Emaya municipal services agency of having acted with selective efficiency by removing the graffiti in just a few hours, while, they maintain, Palma's working-class neighbourhoods suffer sustained deterioration due to a lack of resources. "This clean-up was not to protect a listed building, but to safeguard the image of the tourism sector."
The group goes on to attack coverage by media who have led a "criminalisation campaign through sensationalist headlines". "We are not acting out of hatred or phobia; tourismphobia does not exist. This is a class struggle for a dignified present and future for the working youth of Mallorca."
Arran claim to feel supported by the Mallorcan people, both on social media and on the streets. "They won't stop us. In Mallorca, we say - enough" They reiterate a goal of a free, socialist Mallorca with an economy that serves the needs of the people, not the economic interests of a few. "The future is possible if we build it."