A 65-year-old foreign cyclist died this Thursday after being run over by a car on the Ma-3500 road, which connects Inca and Muro.

It was February 18, 2022, when the then Ministry of European Funds, University and Culture, headed by Miquel Company, announced an investment of more than 8 million euros by the Ministry of Culture and Sport in the reforms of different state-owned museums and cultural institutions in the Balearic Islands. Among them was the “integral architectural and museographic rehabilitation” of the Ethnological Museum of Muro, which for years had suffered from significant deficiencies that hindered its operation. “At this time, the drafting of the architectural project has already been put out to tender, with works scheduled to begin in 2023”, it was stated in the press release published on the Govern's website on that same day in 2022, that is, more than four years ago.

Saint Anthony is the patron saint of animals and, by extension, of farmers. Muro is the town that most proudly celebrates this status of the bearded saint on his feast day (January 17). They do so with elaborate and well-attended blessings, which are the culmination of the great winter festival of the Part Forana region, celebrated with traditional songs, tambourines, and bonfires. Now, the Consell de Mallorca (Island Council of Mallorca) has declared these celebrations an Intangible Cultural Heritage Asset (BIC). Their history can be followed in the book recently published by researcher Damià Payeras Capó, entitled Saint Anthony, popular devotion and festival in Muro. "There is documentary evidence," he says, "that these celebrations have been held in the municipality since the 18th century, although they are surely older. It was the time when all the farmers adorned their altars and took them to be blessed to ensure that they would be protected throughout the year."

The Consell de Mallorca has begun the process of declaring the Benditas de San Antonio de Muro (Blessed Virgins of San Antonio de Muro) an Intangible Cultural Heritage Asset (BICIM), in recognition of their historical, cultural, social, and identity value, and their deep roots in the Muro community and the island's cultural heritage. The declaration must be definitively ratified by the Plenary Session of the island institution.

The General Directorate of Consumer Affairs has opened an investigation into the possibility of minors purchasing tickets to attend a bullfight in Muro, which would constitute a violation of the law regulating this type of event. This was reported on Thursday by the Franz Weber Foundation, which stated that the Directorate is studying the case after receiving a complaint regarding the online sale of tickets to minors. Last November, the international NGO sent a letter to the government indicating that the website offering tickets for the bullfight this Sunday, the 7th, in Muro allowed minors to purchase them without the prior requirement of parental or adult accompaniment. This situation would constitute a possible violation of the law regulating bullfights, which, since 2024, requires that any ticket for minors aged 0 to 16 be purchased with an adult. The company in charge of selling tickets now allows the process to be completed, even with fictitious data, and access discounted prices for children without an adult. This is compounded by a new warning from the FFW (Federation of Bullfighting Organizations). The regional regulations themselves prohibit the consumption of alcoholic beverages during bullfighting events, and the promoters of the bullfight have announced that they will distribute food during a break. This could be accompanied by alcohol, so animal rights activists will submit a new warning to Consum (the Spanish consumer protection agency) for their review. Furthermore, they regret that the Muro City Council has not taken any public action on the matter, given that it is a publicly owned property that has been leased to a foreign company, as it is based in Madrid, not even in the Balearic Islands, and has failed to take basic precautions regarding inspections and vineyards. The organization recalls that the concluding observations made by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child include an explicit request: to keep minors away from the violence of bullfighting. In this regard, they point out that the government has failed to comply with this observation since 2024, and none of its departments seem interested in monitoring compliance with the regrettable legal reform, which, three decades later, allows minors to enter bullrings to view explicit violence against animals and people.