The association Ocio de Ibiza does not need the Govern to communicate officially that they will not be able to open the discotheques this summer. They have known this for days. In fact, not even crosses their minds, says the manager of the group, José Luis Benítez, hours after the councillor for the Presidency, Mercedes Garrido, confirmed on the island that the government does not plan to authorise the opening of nightclubs. “We see the data and we are not fools. Moreover, we are responsible. We said it last year, that we were prioritising health, and this season we are continuing along the same lines,” says Benítez, who insists that they are not planning to open.
“It has been shown that the blame for the increase in the number of infections is not due to legal leisure, but to the parties in villas, the botellones and the premises that operate as nightclubs without having a licence”, continues the spokesperson of the association, who criticises the “lack of control” of these activities. “It bothers us that they talk about leisure in general when, in reality, all of this is illegal leisure”, says Benítez, who confesses that the sector’s business owners are “tired” of the fact that, in the end, “they pay for the sinners”.
Parties without security
In this sense, he regrets the new setback suffered by the island’s bars and restaurants, which from tomorrow will be forced to close an hour earlier, at 1am, following the tightening of restrictions decreed by the Govern, in an attempt to curb contagions. “They are working wonderfully, while illegal parties are taking place in houses and villas and safety measures are not being complied with,” says the spokesperson for Ocio de Ibiza.
The group supports the Consell de Ibiza in its proposal to undertake a legislative change to control illegal parties, a booming business on the island at the moment: “This is the coolest thing right now. People pay a lot of money to go to these parties, where no one is going to say anything to you no matter what you do, the capacity is not controlled and, what’s more, they don’t pay taxes. “That’s the way it is,” laments Benítez, who describes the island’s current epidemiological situation as “sad”.
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