The future of bullfighting in Spain is in question
For Podemos, bullfighting is not an art, not a colorful spectacle celebrated in world literature and attracting millions of tourists from around the world to Spain, but merely "bloody barbarism" – "animal torture".
Here is the opinion of a supporter of such views, journalist Pilar Rahola, which she expressed on the air of "International French Radio": "We must destroy everything connected with torture, with evil, with everything that makes us less civilized, just and capable of compassion. It does not do credit to our society that some of us enjoy cruelty to animals. This is a long-outdated spectacle during which the bullfighter risks his life senselessly, turning us into barbarians. We must evolve and acknowledge that bullfighting only causes moral damage to society."
The city of Palma de Mallorca has just been declared a "bullfighting-free zone." The newly elected mayor of Madrid, Podemos protégée Manuela Carmena, is also against bullfighting. However, she did not dare to deprive the capital of this spectacle – there are too many bullfighting fans here. So the mayor limited herself to threats of withdrawing municipal subsidies from both bullfighting itself and the capital's bullfighting school. As for the governments of Valencia and Aragon, they have already refused such funding. In some regions, the new authorities intend to hold a referendum on the complete ban of bullfighting.
In Catalonia, it has already been banned for five years. It was not the far-left but local separatists who had a hand in its ban. For them, bullfighting is an "uncivilized" Spanish tradition that has no place in civilized Catalonia. However, historians assert the opposite: bullfighting is the heritage of all the peoples of Spain, and its expulsion from Catalonia has purely political motives.
Bullfighting defender, well-known publicist Fernando Sánchez Dragó, believes that its ban, like any other, is an attempt to restrict human rights: "We have always had supporters and opponents of bullfighting. The logic of both is well known. I will only remind those who are fighting bullfighting under the pretext of protecting fighting bulls: when it is gone, these noble animals will also be gone – they will all go to slaughter. And currently the population of fighting bulls is around 300 thousand. But the most important thing is that the ban on bullfighting is an attempt to limit people's freedom, to impose on them what they can watch and what they cannot. We must learn to live while understanding each other's tastes and customs. Such bans only mean interference in the private lives of citizens."
However, this year has brought not only bad news for bullfighting fans. For example, the new leadership of San Sebastián, represented by Christian Democrats, restored the tradition of bullfighting, which had been abolished several years ago by the Basque left-wing nationalists in power.
Note that until now, about 15 thousand bullfights were held in Spain per year. Thousands of people are employed in the industry. Its annual revenue is approximately 1 billion 730 million euros. The main fights take place in Madrid in May-June in honor of the capital's patron saint, San Isidro. Seville is also known for its bullfighting. Here, the main fights are organized for the April Fair. In Pamplona, the bullring celebrated by Hemingway coincides with the July festival of San Fermín.