Spanish Town Abolishes Bullfights in Favor of Books

by Judy Molland August 13, 2015 5:30 pm   

And the score is: Books 1, Bullfights 0.

In a refreshing change for a country that loves its bullfights, the Spanish town of Villafranca de los Caballeros, situated about 80 miles south of Madrid, has decided to cancel its annual bullfight and use the nearly $20,000 saved on books and school supplies for local children. 

A bullfight has been the central attraction of the small town’s fiesta for over a decade, but enough is enough.

“It’s a question of priorities,” said the town’s newly elected socialist mayor, Julián Bolaños. “There is a lot of unemployment in this town and many people simply don’t have money to buy school supplies for their children.” He estimated that the town, which has a population of 5,200, was spending as much as €18,000 a year to hold the annual event.

The Beginning Of The End Of Bullfighting In Spain?

The key here is that Bolaños is a socialist who was elected mayor of Villafranca de los Caballeros (the free town of gentlemen) in May’s local elections. He is not alone. Voters in Spain overwhelmingly backed new left-wing parties in these elections, and as a result the control of several important cities such as Madrid, Valencia and Alicante all changed hands. One of the effects of this switch has been the most serious challenge yet to the practice of bullfighting in Spain.

Just a few examples: Manuela Carmena, the new mayor of Madrid, a traditional bastion of the bullfight, has said publicly that “not one euro of public money” will go toward bullfighting; in the city of Valencia the mayor, Joan Ribó, has likewise stated that no government money will go to finance any event in which bulls are killed; in Alicante, the bull run which has traditionally been a part of the city’s August festival was replaced by a cycling race, and the new government has said it plans to ban municipal land from being used in bullfights by 2017.

It began with a ban on bullfighting in Catalonia in 2011, but now the push to abolish the so-called “sport” is gaining steam. more