Spanish town strikes over luxury homes plan

An entire town on Spain's cement-clogged Costa del Sol went on strike on Oct. 28 for a day to protest at the planned construction of two golf courses, 800 luxury homes and two hotels. The 1,853 residents of Cuevas del Becerro, outside Málaga, closed shops, bars, the town's only gas station and even the elementary school last week, as part of a backlash against rampant building throughout the country. Residents fear the development, by Promociones Club de Campo y Golf de Ronda, will usurp, and possibly taint, the town water supply. More than 600 parents and children marched with signs that read "Water is our best friend." Until recently, criticism of the building blitz in Spain was confined to environmentalists or foreign second-home owners whose rustic estates were encircled by concrete. Local populations have traditionally remained silent at the onslaught of golf courses and holiday villas because new development brings jobs. "What happens is the developers go from house to house offering positions tending the gardens or language courses and training to the young people, and everyone can taste the honey in their mouths," said Juan Becerra, deputy mayor of Cuevas del Becerro. But a series of severe droughts has raised awareness of the water shortage in the parched south and a rash of real estate corruption scandals, such as the one that put the mayor of Marbella, Marisol Yagüe, in jail, have galvanized public outrage. "We have to take the initiative," said Juan Antonia García, a 43-year-old beekeeper in Cuevas del Becerro and a farmers' union leader. "Marbella wouldn't be the way it is if the people had reacted sooner. You can't wait for the judges to come and clean up." Days before the town strike, García said the developer had handed out leaflets offering jobs at the golf course. "We cannot be bought," he said. "We will not surrender." The impact of the new building boom on small Spanish coastal towns and those within striking distance of major cities has been overwhelming. In the central province of Avila, a village of just 150 people, plans to build 7,500 homes and three golf courses were recently approved.