“The Mar Menor is not a container”, “If no solutions will have to be resignations,” chanted the tens of thousands of participants in the demonstration SOS Mar Menor that has filled the heart of Cartagena this afternoon to show their rejection to the situation of collapse in which is located the lagoon of 17,000 hectares, the largest saltwater Europe. The historic event has brought together 55,000 people, according to the National Police. No one remembers such a concentration in the city, where they live 213.000 inhabitants. The fuse that has popped the patience of citizen, went on the 12th of October when thousands of fish and crustaceans were found dead on the shores of the lake suffocated leaving a trail dantesque, shows the poor state of the waters due to agriculture and urban development intesivos. The regional Government withdrew three tonnes of dead animals. In 2016, the lagoon had already issued a cry for help, when it became a soup, pasty, green colour, that the light was unable to penetrate.
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The choking of the mar Menor The mar Menor, in the UVI collection Jobs of dead fish in San Pedro del Pinatar (Murcia). Marcial Guillen EPH-Thousands of fish found dead on the coasts of Murcia
Today it has become clear that the concern of murcia, calling for political solutions to what was once a paradise. The origin of the problems that drag the mar Menor Sea from decades ago is found in the nitrates that come from agricultural fertilizers from the irrigated crops in the Campo de Cartagena (the side that poured into the lagoon), in addition to urban development, exaggerated.
In march, it has seen some farmers. Among them was Santiago Pérez, president of the association Proagua, which makes it clear that it is necessary to take measures now. “You may arrive late, but our children may not receive the laguna as it is,” he explains. “It is a success, the organizers and the occasion deserved it”, is heard between the shouts of the protesters. To his side, Jesus, a taxi driver of 39 years old from Los Alcazares, participate in the march because he wants to “save the Mar Menor and the politicians are not doing anything”. His village was one of the most experienced in the floods of the past month of September due to the passage of the Dana (depression isolated at high levels). His house was flooded. “We lost everything in five minutes,” she recalls.
politicians have joined the march. Among them, the president of the PSOE, Cristina Narbona, who has assured that the Government of Spain “has a clear roadmap to act” in the laguna salada. He complained, at the same time, it has been necessary to the death of thousands of fish so that you will understand the problem that you drag the Mar Menor, which “has reached the limit in terms of discharges of contaminants”. Also have left to see in the march on the founder of we Can, Juan Carlos Monedero and high-ranking officials of the coalition Government of murcia the PP and Citizens.
The president of the Government on functions, Pedro Sanchez, has written on Twitter: “Today thousands of people take to the street in Cartagena to launch a distress call and demand accountability. Our commitment is with his regeneration. Action, to work together to turn it into an example of sustainable prosperity”.
The citizens blame politicians for their mismanagement for decades. The regional Executive has announced that it will launch before the end of the year, a law on the comprehensive protection of the lagoon. The autonomous community already had a similar rule was in force for 14 years, until the PP was repealed in 2001. The central Government has announced a plan for zero discharge with different performances.
The final manifesto has been read by members of the Platform of the Covenant by the mar Menor, of the Brotherhood of Fishermen of San Pedro del Pinatar and the Association of Neighbors of Cartagena and Region. Fishermen have been deeply affected by the carnage that occurred. Remain in dry dock since then due to the fact that “nobody wants” the fish caught in the lagoon after the pictures were disseminated. These months are critical for the group because that starts the streak of gold, which they reported to be between 50 and 70% of their annual profit.
“we Need to do something now”
The neighbors of Cartagena are the protagonists of a mobilization called by several civic platforms, calling for politicians to participate in their individual capacity as a few more, without assuming the leading role. Inma Perez, a neighbor of Murcia that bathes every summer in Villananitos, has declared The Truth: “we Need to do something already. When we saw the dead fish we fell the tears. They are charging the most beautiful that we have”. Feliciano Saez, a spokeswoman for Greenpeace, has said: “We have spent many years of delay and affecting even more the Mar Menor. It’s now or never. The people are fed up”. Leandro Sanchez, president of the Federation of neighbourhood Associations of Cartagena and Shire, one of the convening organizations of the mobilization, has declared the Chain to Be: “This is a manifestation of the citizen, the only protagonists are the citizens, have been the politicians, but a particular way”. Sanchez ensures that the first recipient of their claim is the “regional Government, which has over 30 years of denying this issue that we have been denounced by various groups. Also the Government of Spain through the Hydrographic Confederation, but on the whole the regional Government”.
Carlos Vicente, a neighbor of Santiago de la Ribera, has declared The Truth: “people are horrified. It is desvalorizando our area. Those of us who live there we are losing the possibility of living”. “Always forward, not one step back, the Mar Menor we will save,” and “Lopez Towards resignation”, have shouted members of the Pro Platform Underground. Twenty buses have been added to the call that has overflowed the forecasts, by bringing together more than 55,000 people. The hashtag #SOSMarMenor has been a leader in the trends of Twitter.
