The César Manrique Foundation (FCM), which guards the legacy and vision of the artist who transformed Lanzarote, has issued a statement declaring its support for the planned demonstrations against mass tourism on April 20th.
“Lanzarote has limits, which have been surpassed for a long time”, the statement says. “The negative consequences invade our daily lives, abuse the island and threaten the future of our young people.”
The FCM claim that “Citizens’ unhappiness increases at the same rate as the number of tourist beds, the number of tourists, roads, cars, roundabouts, population, the lack of housing, the consumption of water and energy, attacks on natural and cultural heritage, the saturation of public services, frozen salaries… on the verge of collapse, overwhelmed, overcrowded”.
The announcement is no surprise. Although he helped launch Lanzarote as a tourist destination, Manrique later became an activist against overdevelopment, famously saying that “the time has come to stop,” in 1985.
Manrique was not against tourism, but supported a sustainable model linked with nature, the environment, tradition, art, and culture.
The demonstration against over-development will gather at the bandstand on Arrecife’s seafront at 12 noon on Saturday, 20th of April.
