Overview
- The Ministry of Industry and Tourism has begun an initial assessment to determine if Sagunto’s Holy Week still meets Fiesta de Interés Turístico Nacional criteria, requesting reports from the Generalitat Valenciana, the city council and the organizing cofradía.
- The Cofradía de la Purísima Sangre’s statutes require members to be a “baptized male,” excluding women from membership and roles, a practice the ministry is examining under participation requirements.
- An extraordinary assembly is scheduled for 22 March to vote on replacing “varón” with a gender‑neutral term, after prior votes in 1999 and 2022 rejected inclusion with published tallies.
- Even if members approve the change, cofradía sources say procedural steps mean women would not join in 2026 and likely not in 2027.
- A 2024 Constitutional Court ruling found women’s exclusion from such associations discriminatory, and revoking ITN status is uncommon, with one documented precedent in Miranda de Ebro.