The Palma city council and the Balearic government boldly announced last year that bullfighting had been banned in the city. So why are plans being unveiled for a bullfight to take place next month?
In fact, Vox, the right-wing group on the city council, has welcomed the move but animal rights groups are calling for the council to take action and ban it. I seem to remember that ending bullfighting was one of the election pledges of the previous coalition government, but it appears that there is a so-called “loophole” which does mean that bullfighting can take place. When the coalition government announced their intentions it was a controversial move which effectively split Palma. Bullfights have been taking place outside the city but not in the capital for many years.
There is a strong anti-bullfight group in Palma which would ensure that the event would not go ahead in the city without a great deal of protest. But the Palma city council are obviously in a very complicated situation and it could be the first major crisis which new Mayor Jose Hila has to deal with. It would certainly cause controversy. Over recent years the bullring in Palma has been used to host concerts and sporting events and many people thought that its day of hosting bullfights were over. But it appears not. Bullfighting still has a major following in Spain especially in the south of the country. It is however banned in some provinces such as Catalonia where the move caused an outcry.