The president of the Consell Insular de Ibiza, Vicent Marí, used this Friday the institutional act of the Constitution Day to place at the center of the debate the problems that most concern the island today: the cost of living, the lack of housing and migratory pressure.
Marí defended that the Constitution should not be just a text to commemorate once a year, but “a living and present tool that guarantees rights, freedoms and equal opportunities” and that should serve as a framework to respond to the challenges facing Ibiza.
Housing, cost of living and migratory pressure
In his speech, the President stressed that the Magna Carta continues to be “a social pact of values, pluralism and respect” and that the principles contained in its Preamble act as “a necessary compass to guarantee coexistence, social and economic progress and the quality of life of citizens”.
At this point, Mar alluded expressly to the situation in Ibiza, marked by the generalized rise in prices, the difficulty of access to decent housing and the migratory pressure on the territory and services. Problems that, he said, should be addressed from the spirit of the Constitution and not from confrontation.
Social dialogue to face the island’s challenges
The president highlighted the work of the Social Dialogue Board, in which employers and unions “sit down with the will to reach an agreement for the benefit of all Ibizan citizens, making the constitutional spirit of dialogue and coexistence a reality”.
In his opinion, this space is an example of how to apply the Constitution to the day-to-day life of the island, seeking consensual solutions to improve the living conditions of residents and move towards “a freer and fairer society and island”.
Freedom of expression and freedom of association, pillars in force
Marí also wanted to vindicate the validity of two specific articles of the Magna Carta: Article 20, which protects freedom of expression and information, and Article 28, which recognizes freedom of association.
Regarding the former, he warned of the impact of social networks and polarization, which often “go against the constitutional spirit”, and defended that “a well-informed society is a society capable of deciding, debating and respecting disagreement”.
As for freedom of association, he described it as “an essential means of defending workers and a fair distribution of the fruits of progress”, especially in an economic context such as that of Ibiza.
Against polarization and in defense of “shared soil”.
The President recalled that, although in these 48 years society has changed profoundly, “the will for freedom and future that makes our Constitution valuable has been maintained”.
At the same time, he warned that the Magna Carta “does not include the temptation to break the shared ground that sustains our diversity” and called to avoid polarization, because “democracy is built among all, above any juncture or ideology”.
Marí concluded that the Constitution “gives us rights, but it also asks us for responsibility: to listen, respect, dialogue, comply with the law and move forward with consensus” and affirmed that “defending it every day is the best tribute we can pay it”, especially in a territory like Ibiza, where the great social and economic challenges require broad and stable agreements.
