Toledo village spends bullfighting cash on schoolbooks for hard-up kids
Wednesday, July 29, 2015 @ 4:50 PM
A VILLAGE mayor in the province of Toledo has decided to spend the council's annual bullfight budget on school materials for local children.
Julián Bolaños, leader of Villafranca de los Caballeros' local authorities, says he thinks bullfighting is 'cruel', but that his 'personal opinions' are not the main reason for re-routing the €18,000 pot.
“It's about priorities – with so much unemployment in Villafranca, people just do not have enough money to buy textbooks and other equipment for their kids for school,” Bolaños admits.
“I think bullfighting is cruel, but it's not that we're doing this because of being against it in principle. It's just that it's money we can spend on other things. If any other company is prepared to pay for bullfights here themselves, then they're welcome to.”
Although some mayors who have stopped funding bullfights and bull-runs out of the council coffers and refused to allow bull-related shows on public land – as opposed to banning them outright – have suffered abuse, threats and even violence from fans of these events, Bolaños says he has only had positive feedback to his decision.
Even those who enjoy the annual September bullfights in Villafranca have admitted they can go to other towns or villages to watch them if they want, and that the hard-pressed families who live locally need the money more.
Most of the councils who have effectively barred bull-runs and bullfights by denying funding or land use, or those who have pledged to hold a referendum ahead of next year's fiestas, are left of the centre and were either voted in during this year's local elections in May or formed as coalitions out of opposition parties banding together.
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