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

PalmaOutrage and bewilderment among the demon groups of Palma after the City Council has limited the number of annual correfocs to 11 in the neighborhoods of the entire city. The measure, recently approved, represents a radical change compared to 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 group. According to her, the sector sensed 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 one," she laments.

Capellà 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 groups denounce an increase in the bureaucratic burden. From now on, the processing of permits will not be done directly by the groups, but by neighborhood associations, which will have to assume all administrative management. "This adds another intermediary and complicates the process a lot," explains Capellà. "Before we used to submit the documentation; now the association has to do it, with telematic 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 hinder the entry of new entities. "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, according to the City Council, to a lack of resources – the Council 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 group Realment Cremats, "is an unacceptable excuse". This limitation has caused their group to have to suspend the children's correfoc planned for Sant Jordi's Day in Secar de la Reial, as they explained on social media.

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 accused the municipal government of betting on "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 People's Party government" which is also reflected in the 2025-2026 freeze 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 Palma Ombudswoman, Anna Moilanen, has issued a warning regarding the paralysis of these grants, which mainly affect neighborhood, sports, and educational entities: if the situation is not resolved quickly, it "could mean the disappearance of part of the associative fabric" of the City. The suspension, which is already dragging on for the fifth month with no clear resolution timeline, affects "a wide range of activities that, in some cases, supplement "the Administration's own shortcomings"," she explained.