Male members of Sagunto's Cofradía de la Puríssima Sang voted on Sunday 267 against and 114 in favor to reject changing statutes to allow women to process with them. The decision upholds a 530-year tradition but risks losing the event's National Tourist Interest status. Pro-inclusion groups protested outside the hermitage.
On Sunday, in the Ermita de la Puríssima Sang del Nostre Senyor Jesucrist in Sagunto, 403 men out of 1,627 Cofradía de la Puríssima Sang members voted in an extraordinary assembly. The outcome was clear: 267 votes against and 114 in favor of amending the statutes to replace “varones” with “personas”, allowing women to join Holy Week processions, a 530-year tradition. There were 22 blank, null, or abstention votes per EL PAÍS; EL MUNDO reports 389 voters, 267 against, 114 for, and 8 abstentions from 1,642 registered members. This is the third vote since 1999, with less support for inclusion than in 2022 (125 for per EL PAÍS) or four years ago (127 per EL MUNDO). The majority applauded the result and prayed a paternoster, while dozens from the Semana Santa Inclusiva group shouted “shame” outside with the slogan “Por tradición, por igualdad” (EL MUNDO). Brothers justified rejection with phrases like “La tradición es la tradición”, “No se puede romper una tradición”, or “Que se monten ellas una cofradía propia” (EL PAÍS). Women continue supporting by mending vestas, cleaning the hermitage, or selling lottery, but do not process. Blanca Ribelles called it “una oportunidad histórica perdida”, comparing to inclusive processions in Seville, Malaga, or Lorca. Young brothers reiterated “no se puede romper la tradición”. The Ministry of Industry and Tourism is assessing revoking the 2004 National Tourist Interest declaration for “lack of citizen participation (women)”, after a citizen query, citing the 2023 Constitutional Court ruling on a La Laguna (Tenerife) brotherhood, which found violation of non-discrimination rights. The process is preliminary and was paused pending the vote. Sagunto's City Hall, led by Darío Moreno, contacted the ministry. One brother noted no public subsidies, another suggested women form their own brotherhood.
