“A complete misrule.” This is how Jaime Martínez, PP candidate for mayor of Palma, defines the situation suffered by the city council of the Balearic capital with the tripartite formed by a “radicalized” PSOE, Podemos and the independentistas from Més. Misgovernment is compounded by the “inaction, neglect and sectarianism” of the municipal team of a city that has fallen in all indices: “After eight years of left-wing government, we are the 5th dirtiest city in Spain, the 5th most insecure , the 3rd in worst mobility and the 3rd in worst quality of life». Thus, Jaime Martínez remembers that «In 2015, with the PP, Palma was the best city in the world to live in, according to Times magazine».
In an interview with HOY RESPONDE from OKDIARIO, Jaime Martínez says that what is happening in Palma is “very sad” and accuses the socialist mayor, José Hila, for “not leading” the municipal team and to “let Podemos and Mes roam free, doing and undoing as they please.” “There have been 8 years of decadence and neglect, of not launching projects and of governing with propaganda instead of with rigor and action.”
The popular candidate from Palma laments the dirtiness of the city and the mismanagement of the municipal company Emaya: «These municipal companies, like the transport company, must have a clear direction with effective people and clear objectives. Emaya and its workers are the image of the city. The workers know how to do their job very well. They have shown it in other legislatures. Those who fail are their managers, management, programming, management and day to day. They are not trained. There is no image policy for the city, nor are the basic services that the citizen deserves fulfilled.
Imposition of Catalan
Jaime Martínez says that “Catalan is a basic requirement in absolutely all Palma city council positions” and promises to reverse the current imbalance with Spanish: “When we govern the Ciutat de Palma awards they will once again be in Spanish and Catalan after 8 years only in Catalan due to pure sectarianism». And he describes another of the current nonsense that he will correct if he is mayor on 28-M: «The city council does not answer you in Spanish if you do not request it. In a bilingual community, the citizen has the right to address the administration as he wishes and the administration the duty to answer you in the language in which it was addressed”.
Unsafety
Jaime Martínez promises to “restore dignity to the Palma Local Police force”. “They lack basic resources,” he says. “They do not deserve it. They are great professionals, but today there are 300 fewer policemen on the streets than 20 years ago with 100,000 more inhabitants in the city. There is no prevention, there is no police on the street », he laments. Jaime Martínez promises that “when we govern there will be a crash plan to provide the city with the 900 police officers, at least, that there were 20 years ago.” Remember Jaime Martínez that «Palma has had 35% more crimes in 2022 than 2021 on the street: robberies, thefts, assaults, destruction of street furniture…».
Mobility
According to Jaime Martínez, the actions of Mayor José Hila’s tripartite “have all tended to worsen or create problems where there were none” and denounces the serious disappearance of parking spaces: “They are reforming the promenade and eliminating 1,200 car parks without putting alternatives when in the city there is a deficit of more than 15,000 parking spaces. They want to make a tram that eliminates 4,000 parking spaces and that is going to destroy the municipal markets, eliminating hundred-year-old trees ».
Local market
Jaime Martínez says that “commerce is desperate”: “They want to take that same tram to the airport, but stopping at a large shopping center halfway.” And he ironically: “That’s how they take care of commerce.” He accuses the municipal government of harass them “with constant inspections to try to limit their activity and force them to close.
“Neither in the pandemic nor after,” he says, “the business has received no help from the city council. They must have closed hundreds of shops. And he describes it like this: «It’s sad to walk around the center of Palma at 7 pm and there’s no one on the street. In the end -he recalls- the small business is what generates and attracts activity and makes a friendly, lively and happy city ».
rebuild palm
Jaime Martínez sends a message of hope to “rebuild” the city, despite the fact that “destroying is very easy and building is much more difficult.” He has agreed with Marga Prohens (popular candidate to preside over the Balearic Islands) and Alberto Núñez Feijóo to create and establish in Palma a Commissioner for the Regeneration of Tourist Areas throughout Spain: «We will once again make Palma the world capital of tourism and tourist knowledge. We have large companies and a very powerful private sector, which has to export its know-how in new technologies, innovation and tourism”.
anti business ideology
The PP candidate for mayor of Palma assures that ideology permeates everything in the government team and the attacks on the business community are especially hurtful: “Their policies are not intended to encourage private initiative or to the self-employed so that when they go to the town hall you open the doors for them and make it as easy as possible for them to create a new company and activities to generate more wealth for the city”.
He says that the government team “denies reality and in the end it is not understanding the city. It is not understanding that Playa de Palma is the motor of the city, that its income to the municipal coffers allows it to have investments and social services ». «Distributing wealth -says Jaime Martínez- is not giving pay and bonuses to everyone».
Palma, the best city
Jaime Martínez is clear that he wants to return to Palma the title of best city to live in: «In the end, you have to have a city project, a clear objective and strategy. The strategy is to act on the urgency of housing, mobility, cleanliness and security. This has to be in 2023 without letting a minute go by. But without forgetting the medium and long term. Thinking about the city that we want to leave our children and laying the foundations. And for that I consider three axes: culture, sport and sustainability. They are transversal and serve social cohesion”. Jaime Martínez opposes this idea to «a PSOE that is dedicated to dividing, confronting, being sectarian and reinforcing what separates us and not what unites us2.
Hila = Armengol = Sánchez
“Hila and Armengol are Sánchez,” says Jaime Martínez. «Armengol is the only national baroness who defends the management, policies and alliances of Pedro Sánchez tooth and nail. She is an outstanding student of Pedro Sánchez. And Hila by mimicry or inaction is the same. The PSOE here -he says emphatically- is the PSOE of Sánchez ».
Jaime Martínez launches this message: “In the May elections we will also decide whether or not we want him to continue governing in this city, on these islands and in this country Pedro Sánchez”.
