The groups explode against the limitation of the correfocs: "It is an attack on culture"

PalmIndignation and bewilderment among the devil groups of Palma after the City Council has limited to 11 the number of annual correfocs in the neighborhoods of the entire City. The measure, recently approved, represents a radical change from the previous situation, in which there was no limit and activities were managed according to the demand and organizational capacity of the neighborhoods and the groups.

"The limitation is something completely new. It surprised us all," explains Cati Capellà, president of the Es Cau des Boc Negre fan club. According to her account, the sector suspected that "something was happening," but it wasn't until the decree was published that they had confirmation. "Where before there was no limit, now there is," she laments.

Capellá considers that the measure implies "a direct limitation of culture" and warns that, in practice, the limit leaves many groups with only one annual performance.

More bureaucracy

In addition to the numerical cap, the 'colles' denounce an increase in the bureaucratic burden. From now on, the processing of permits will not be done directly by the 'colles', but by neighborhood associations, which will have to assume all administrative management. "This adds another intermediary and greatly complicates the process," explains Capellà. "Before, we submitted the documentation; now the association has to do it, with online requirements and deadlines of only ten days. It is much more complex, doing exactly the same thing".

According to the president of Es Cau des Boc Negre, this change can discourage participation and make it difficult for new entities to join. "We don't look at the political side. We don't care who governs. We care about how culture is treated, and this clearly limits it," she emphasizes.

Lack of resources

The restriction is due, as reported by the City Council, to a lack of resources –the Consistory is responsible for ensuring police presence, the presence of a Firefighter unit, and the participation of Civil Protection volunteers, among other logistical details–, which for the demon troupe Realment Cremats, "is an unacceptable excuse". This limitation has caused their troupe to have to suspend the children's correfoc planned for the Diada de Sant Jordi in Secar de la Reial, as they have explained on social networks.

On the part of the opposition, the councilor of MÉS per Palma, Miquel Àngel Contreras, has harshly criticized the decision. "Correfocs are not just a party. They are community, identity, and real participation. Cutting them is cutting street culture in the neighborhoods," he stated. Along these lines, he has accused the municipal government of opting for "an elitist culture, designed for tourist promotion, and not for the people who live and build the city every day".

Suspension of municipal subsidies

For Contreras, this is another example of the "serious deterioration of citizen participation policies in Palma under the Popular Party government" which is also reflected in the 2025-2026 paralysis of municipal subsidies, according to him. The party has censured "a model based on improvisation, lack of resources, and contempt for neighborhood associations, which puts activities, community projects, and collective rights at risk".

The Ombudsman of Palma, Anna Moilanen, has issued a warning about the paralysis of these subsidies, which mainly affect neighborhood, sports, and educational entities: if the situation is not resolved quickly, "it could mean the disappearance of a part of the associative fabric" of the City. The suspension, which is already extending into the fifth month without a clear resolution schedule, affects "a wide range of activities that, in some cases, supplement "deficiencies of the Administration itself", she explained.