The police charges after the historic protest in Mallorca against tourist overcrowding put Marlaska in the spotlight and Podemos demands his resignation

Podemos demanded this Monday the resignation of the Minister of Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, due to the police charges recorded at the end of the massive demonstration against tourist overcrowding held on Sunday in Palma. The co-spokesperson for the party, Pablo Fernández, described the intervention as "savage and intolerable" and also demanded the departure of the Government delegate in the Balearic Islands, Alfonso Rodríguez.

The action left eight demonstrators attended by health services, including a photojournalist who received a blow to the head while covering the incidents. Two people were transferred to the hospital and discharged during the early morning. The National Police also reported five injured officers and kept one of the participants detained.

"This is inadmissible," Fernández denounced during a press conference. The purple leader maintains that the agents charged against citizens who were demanding their right to access housing and protesting against policies that, according to him, "roll out a red carpet for vulture funds and investment funds."

Podemos places political responsibility on Rodríguez and Marlaska, whom they present as the highest authority responsible for the police operation. The request joins those made by Més per Mallorca and Menys Turisme, Més Vida, the platform responsible for organizing the mobilization.

A massive march that ended in charges

The protest gathered some 25,000 people according to the National Police and up to 70,000 according to the organizers. Under the slogan "Mallorca al límit", the march toured the center of Palma to demand a reduction in tourist pressure and measures against the housing crisis, the saturation of public services, and environmental deterioration.

The mobilization proceeded peacefully for practically the entire route. Tension began when the Police closed access to Ses Voltes, the space next to the cathedral where the final act was to be held, after limiting its capacity to 2,000 people.

The organizers then moved the reading of the manifesto to the area around Parc de la Mar. As night fell, thousands of attendees remained concentrated in front of the police deployment on Antoni Maura avenue. A small group threw bottles and other objects, an action that was reprimanded by the protesters themselves.

Officers responded with several charges and warning shots. The images released show baton blows against people near the police cordon and the injury suffered by the photojournalist, whose actions will now be internally investigated.

The police version maintains that a group of about 200 people adopted a violent attitude, attacked a couple of tourists, and threw sticks, stones, cans, and screws at the officers. According to the police report collected by EFE, the detainee knocked down and assaulted a police officer who had come to assist the tourists.

The convening platform rejects that account of the origin of the incidents and denounces a "totally unjustified and disproportionate" intervention. It also accuses the deployment of hitting peaceful protesters and hindering the assistance of some injured people once the charges began.

The delegate questions the action and rules out resigning

Alfonso Rodríguez has acknowledged that some of the images are "unacceptable" and has requested an exhaustive report to clarify what happened. The delegate admits that several officers used force against people who apparently posed no threat, although he rules out accepting the request for resignation made by the left.

Rodríguez will meet with the superior chief of the National Police in the Balearic Islands, José Antonio Puebla, to review the operation. "I regret what happened", he declared before specifying that the concrete orders to charge are adopted on the ground and that the investigation must establish if at any time the response was excessive.

The Balearic president, Marga Prohens, has also demanded explanations from the Government Delegation, while the Secretary of State for Tourism, Rosario Sánchez, has called the images "shameful" and has asked for all responsibilities to be clarified.

The controversy has partially displaced the demands of a protest called by more than a hundred entities. The Balearic Islands received 18.9 million visitors during 2025 compared to a stable population of around 1.2 million people, figures that have intensified the debate on access to housing, resource consumption and economic dependence on tourism.

Podemos maintains its demand regarding Marlaska and Rodríguez, while the Delegation awaits the police reports. The investigation must now identify who ordered the charges, which agents hit people unrelated to the altercations and why the closure of Ses Voltes ended up turning the end of a peaceful march into a night of injuries.