There are traditions that never pass away. For centuries the Three Wise Men have brought gifts, or meals in Spain have lasted long after dinner. Others, however, do not stand the test of time: it is impossible to celebrate the throwing of a goat from a bell tower even in 2026. Now, the Government wants another old custom, known as shows comics of dwarf bullfighters, disappear forever. That is why today, Tuesday, the Bullfighting Show Regulations were modified through a royal decree to prevent the holding of public events that denigrate people with disabilities. “There will be no legal loophole to allow shows in which public mockery is carried out (…), more specifically of people with dwarfism,” says a statement released by the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumption and Agenda 2030, promoter of the measure.
The department directed by Pablo Bustinduy remembers that these shows have actually already been prohibited by the General Disability Law. The reform of this regulation, in parliamentary process, plans to classify these practices as “very serious infractions”, with fines of between 600,000 euros and one million. Meanwhile, the Council of Ministers wants to put an end to any possible legal vacuum, with the new section 4 of article 90 of the Bullfighting Shows Regulations: “Comic-bullfighting shows will respect human dignity, without being able to harm people’s rights or subject them to public ridicule or denigration, in particular, of social minorities, such as people with disabilities. The competent governmental authority may not authorize shows (…) that violate this mandate.” At the same time, the Ministry shows that from 2022 the program Steps with dignity offers job reintegration to those who “have been forced to work in these bullfighting shows and in other types of shows denigrators who make public ridicule of their bodies.”
In a statement on February 1, the CERMI (Spanish Committee of Representatives of People with Disabilities) stated that “this modification constitutes a relevant step in the eradication of discriminatory and humiliating practices that, under the guise of entertainment or tradition, have perpetuated offensive stereotypes and attacks on dignity.” The organization has closely followed this procedure and estimates that more than 4.5 million citizens suffer from some type of disability.
Just a year ago, however, justice offered a different interpretation. The contentious-administrative court number 5 of Malaga ruled in favor of the holding of the “comic-bullfighting” show Fun in the ring and its bullfighting dwarfs. The event was going to be held in the town of Cortes de la Frontera in the summer of 2023, until the Andalusian Government denied its authorization, in its first decision in this regard, which expressly cited the law on the rights of people with disabilities. However, after the promoter’s appeal, the judge argued that there was “no objective data” that would allow it to be concluded that the purpose was “to mock these (people) or their disability.” If it were understood this way, the ruling argued, the participation of people with disabilities in any other show would have to be suppressed.
The Government insists, however, on its path. And opt for going directly into action. Bullfighting, thus, once again appears in political activity, where lately it appears with some frequency. A month ago, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child asked Spain for explanations for allowing minors to attend bullfighting shows. And on October 7, Congress shot down a Popular Legislative Initiative that called for withdrawing national cultural protection from bullfighting. The deputies rejected simply taking into consideration the proposal, backed by more than 600,000 signatures. That is, they didn’t even want to hear about it. The abstention of the PSOE, among many controversies, was decisive in protecting the party.