Politics

Late19thcentury / early20thcentury Findesicle Spanish regeneracionista intellectuals protested against what they called the policy of pan y toros bread and bulls, an analogue of Roman panem et circenses promoted by politicians to keep the populace content in its oppression. During the Franco dictatorship, bullfights were supported by the state as something genuinely Spanish, as the fiesta nacional, so that bullfights became associated with the regime and, for this reason, many thought they would decline after the transition to democracy, but this did not happen. Later socialdemocratic governments, particularly the government of Jos Luis Rodr?guez Zapatero, have generally been more opposed to bullfighting, prohibiting children under 14 from attending and limiting or prohibiting the broadcast of bullfights on national TV.