A hunger strike launched in Tenerife, as part of mass tourism protests, has been called off after 20 days as officials have shown 'zero interest' in their plight, strikers have said.
According to Ninemsn four of the six activists who stopped eating announced their decision on Wednesday (May 1) in the square in the town of La Laguna in the north of the island.
Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands off the west coast of Africa and it has been struggling with issues of mass tourism for some years now.
In early April more than 50,000 people took to the streets of Tenerife in protest against tourism on the island, brandishing 'you enjoy, we suffer' placards as locals fight poverty and housing shortages.
The campaigners claim that the huge influx of tourists is causing major environmental damage, driving down wages and squeezing locals out of cheap affordable housing, forcing dozens to live in tents and cars instead.
The activists on the hunger strike were pushing the local authorities to stop two tourist projects; to stop the construction of a five-star hotel by one of Tenerife's last virgin beaches called La Tejita and to change the tourist model to protect the island and prioritise the locals.