Convened by the Bizilagunak platform, more than a thousand people have left the gardens of Alderdi Eder to claim a more habitable city. Among the cries of “Housing is not business” and of “San Sebastian is not for sale”, a demonstration has been held through the streets of the Old Part, Centro and Amara to denounce that the turistification “chokes” the neighbors.

Under the motto “We are in danger”, mobilisation has brought together neighbours and neighbours of all ages. The protest was also supported by representatives of the leftist parties and more than half a hundred associations, collectives and institutions from Donostia-San Sebastián. Among the concentrates are Stop Evictions, the Association of Neighbors of Ulía, Martutene Bizirik, Eguzki, Ekologistak Martxan and the unions ELA, LAB, ESK, CCOO, CNT and Steilas, among others. The appeal of the Bizilagunak platform has once again shown that mass tourism is the main concern of the Donostiarras.

The multitudinous mobilization has traveled the most touristic streets and avenues of the city so that the Donostiarras also listen to their desires and needs: “They will tell us that ‘quality tourism’ is the formula to avoid overcrowding, but we demand quality conditions,” they pointed out at the end of the demonstration. In an event held in Amara Square, they recalled that while luxury tourism is being promoted, Donostia continues with the emergence of housing, precarious working conditions and the weakening of community networks.

Strategy of hypocrisy

Given the current situation, however, the City Hall of Donostia-San Sebastián is not taking the necessary measures to limit the situation. From the neighborhood platform they have pointed out that, rather than taking measures, the City Hall has launched a “strategy of hypocrisy” in recent years: “It does not want to change the situation, but the perception of citizenship. The size of guided tours is not enough with similar tourist rates or negligible rates.”

Thus, Bildu's neighbours have called for "in-depth" solutions, as they have denounced in a statement. To this end, they considered it "essential" to adopt measures to promote tourism growth, according to the platform: “We have to reduce the tourist costs, we have to rebalance the economic space, we have to interrupt all the policies that are made for the benefit of tourism businesses, we have to stop seeing the culture as a lure to attract tourists…”, they explained in the series of measures that they have highlighted in Amara.

Solidarity with the KAS platform

They also wanted to show their solidarity with the Street Solidarity Dinners. As they have pointed out, the last ban the platform has received is “a brutal example of an elitist and exclusionary city model.” In this sense, in the published note, the Donostian citizenship is invited to participate in initiatives such as the KAS and other solidarity initiatives: “There is no beautiful San Sebastian or city that generates international pride, as long as there is exclusion, hunger and misery among us.”