Weekly news round-up in Mallorca

The courts in Mallorca have been in the spotlight over recent days because of a series of rulings that have left many scratching their heads and others angry.

Three weeks ago in the Bulletin, we reported on the acquittal of a driver who had been accused of causing the death of a pedestrian, 39-year-old Briton, Alan Taylor, in Palma in June 2020. Two courts had concluded that the fact that the driver was over the alcohol limit had not influenced events at a pedestrian crossing. Mention was made of the phasing of lights, of a municipal services truck that had obscured Mr. Taylor's view, and of an autopsy which suggested that he had consumed alcohol and benzodiazepines and that this had impaired his reactions.

Following that report, Mr. Taylor's mother, Jean, contacted the Bulletin. She had been angered and frustrated by what she had read. She presented her story of her son's death and told us that there hadn't been an autopsy. Alan had had three drinks, which she knew to be the case as they had spoken by phone half an hour before the accident. She added that he wasn't on drugs. His organs were donated, and the operation for this was three days after the accident.

There was a great deal to this story, including a second tragedy - the death of her husband John some weeks later. He hadn't been in the best of health and was hospitalised in Palma with double pneumonia. There had been the trauma of Alan's death and a 27-hour journey to Palma at a time when Covid restrictions were in place.

Jean feels let down by the Spanish legal system. But she knows that nothing can bring Alan back. The driver, she concluded, had "ripped our lives and those of his colleagues and friends apart".

In Sa Pobla in July 2018, the driver of a Ford Transit van ran over a pedestrian who died from his injuries not long after the accident. The driver tested positive for cocaine, yet this was ruled out by a Palma court. Testimony from the Guardia Civil drew a conclusion that the driver had not been guilty of gross negligence. He was acquitted.

Suspended sentences and "banishment"

Other cases have been less serious in that there were no deaths. Three Senegalese men were each sentenced to a year in prison, suspended for three years, for having robbed a British tourist and attacked another tourist with a bottle in Magalluf in June 2019. The second Briton suffered injuries that took three weeks to heal. The prosecutor had called for three-year sentences. The court took into account the time it had taken for the case to be heard and the fact that some compensation, which it set, had been paid prior to the hearing.

A 39-year-old Moroccan man was arrested for a series of thefts from hotels in Alcudia - there were seven reports of bags having been stolen from hotel pool areas. He appeared in court in Inca, and the prosecutor requested that he be banished from Alcudia. He apparently had a suspended prison sentence.

Forty arrests in major drugs operation

The Guardia Civil and the National Police mounted an operation on Tuesday that was described as one of the largest ever against drugs in Mallorca. Raids were carried out simultaneously at 5.10am in various parts of Palma, elsewhere on the island and in Catalonia. There were some sixty raids in all and over forty arrests.

One of the raids was in the Son Banya shanty town, notorious for being Mallorca's 'drugs supermarket'. Three prominent drugs barons were among those arrested, all with links to clans in Son Banya. At one address in Virgen de Lluc in Palma, a kilo of cocaine of great purity was seized. Other significant discoveries were made, including marijuana plantations.

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Driver positive for drugs, acquitted of causing the death of a pedestrian in Sa Pobla

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When 'excesses' involve a choir

Tourism law and order is a subject we hear a great deal about. Barely a week seems to pass without some report or other to do with reform of the Balearic government's tourism of excesses law. This week has been no different. There was a meeting of the committee which considers this law, and what emerged was yet more speculation as to what this reform may or may not entail. The tourism minister, Jaume Bauzá, has said that he doesn't expect the reform to be pushed through until some time next year - presumably in advance of the next season - so we're really going to have to wait in order to find out what he finally intends.

Having said this, might Palma's Santa Catalina district find itself covered by the law? Residents have been complaining about noise and excesses for a number of years. But are the complaints about tourists or island residents? A bit of both, but probably more the latter, and the issues that arise are essentially to do with bylaws and business activity licences. The trouble, where residents are concerned, is that authorities aren't getting a grip of either. Hence a party on a restaurant terrace with some one hundred people led the residents associations to claim - "We are on our way to Magalluf."

The owner of the restaurant in question responded to the complaints by saying that they (the bars and restaurants) are always portrayed as the bad guys and that they don't deserve this. He also pointed out that the party was in fact a choir. They were singing and mostly all of them were drinking water. Around 11pm, the police arrived and the singing ended. "There was no chaos or anything."

A longer marathon than usual

Mallorca had anticipated a bumper weekend in terms of tourism because of the extended bridge holidays for last week's National Day. And the weekend duly delivered. Lower prices and good weather had attracted Spanish visitors, but the weather then went and spoiled things. The long hot Indian summer came to an end. Among all the visitors were people taking part in three sports events for cycling, triathlon and marathon. The start to the Palma Marathon Mallorca last Sunday had to be delayed by an hour because of the rain, but once run it produced a British winner of the women's marathon. Shannon Barton crossed the line dead on three hours. Toni Gran of Mallorca won the men's event in 2:33:18.

Last Sunday's rain was heaviest in the northeast, where there were concerns about torrents bursting their banks. It is very understandable that people will get concerned; bad memories of the tragic floods in October 2018 are still all too fresh. In Cala Millor, a torrent did spill over, but this wasn't serious.

The conditions caused a cap de fibló, similar to a tornado, which brought down trees in Llucmajor. This phenomenon does cause damage from time to time. Many of us will remember the horrific cap de fibló of October 2007. This ripped off roofs and brought down trees; one person died. October, as we have experienced this year, can be blissful, but it can also be a month of heavy storms, so it is no surprise when rain and wind appear and temperatures drop.

Taxi problems over?

For visitors to Palma and indeed for residents, getting a taxi can sometimes be problematic. There were reports of complaints about this over the summer, although these were nothing like as regular as last year. Even so, it is acknowledged that there is a shortage of taxis. A report that the taxi "nightmare" was at end was therefore welcome. Or was there an end? The town hall and the taxi associations had struck a deal whereby the number of taxis per day will increase from 500 to 720. Yes, but the deal applies to this November until next February. They'll no doubt have further talks.

Taxis come in for plenty of criticism, and the arrival of Uber in Mallorca in June has only served to heighten this criticism. While Uber operations are confined to four municipalities and involve higher prices than taxis, there has been plenty of tension between the two camps. One of the taxi associations commissioned a firm of private investigators to report on Uber "irregularities", and the firm apparently found plenty. The report has since been handed to the government's department for mobility.

The government has a problem

The Balearic government of the Partido Popular has recently celebrated its first one hundred days and it has taken time to say how well things have been going. Until, that is, it came to a parliament session to approve the 2024 spending ceiling, a crucial step in setting next year's budget. The opposition parties were against the spending proposal, but so also were Vox. The finance minister, Antoni Costa, said forlornly: "I thought we had an agreement." Perhaps he did, but Vox linked the spending to a proposal of their own regarding language in schools that the PP had turned down. It then emerged that there were differences within Vox. A deputy spokesperson was sacked for having been in favour of voting with the PP.