Seville is the land of brotherhoods, pious images and countless displays of religious fervor in the streets. on Easter. And the rest of the year. in september Hidden He did the math and revealed that over the next few months there will be more than 50 religious marches as part of the closing of 2024, with “la magna” as the main course, and a grand parade to close the Second International. Brotherhood Congress. But there is more than belief behind the “extraordinary cults” on the streets of Seville: local police officers working overtime to guarantee their safety. And for the City Council, this translates into hours of pay and more overtime hours to use public coffers.

In an interview on the Wall Canal on Monday, the city’s mayor talked about what this means for the City Council and was open to introducing some kind of ‘fraternity tax’ for the use of Seville’s streets. It didn’t take long for the councilman to back down, but the debate over whether that was his intention ended.

What happened? The mayor of Seville, José Luis Sanz (PP), has sparked a thorny debate in the capital of Andalusia. Considering that there are many marches in the city not only during festivals but throughout the year, and that these “extraordinary excursions” require police and impose costs on municipal coffers, should a tax be specifically levied? To fraternities? Would this ‘sibling tax’ serve to ‘regulate’ the celebrations?

During an interview, Sanz admitted that he did not like the idea. He did not say that he would implement it or that the Seville City Council was even working on it; However, upon the journalist’s question, he made it clear that he saw this as a reasonable option. Articles in the local and national press, copies and columns from the Seville fraternities were enough to create tremendous excitement. Sanz somewhat corrected himself by explaining that he had ignored the ratio and that “there was no discussion whatsoever”; but the truth is that this is exactly what debate creates.

What exactly did he say? Sanz spoke on the program ‘El Llamador’ broadcast on Canal Sur and the presenter asked him about the number of marches held in Seville. “We need to start organizing a little bit the extraordinary solutions that this city faces, because firstly it is not good to make the extraordinary ordinary; secondly, this city has a problem that we all know: we are short 500 local police officers and just as many national ones”.

Sanz explained that this “structural problem” in the city implies that mass events such as parades must be organized “taking a lot of time”, forcing them to compensate for the lack of agents by working overtime for those who do exist. At this point, the journalist asks him the key question: What if the fraternities cooperate to ensure that this expense does not put such a burden on the municipal coffers?

“It’s impossible for a fraternity to pay the cost of two or three patrolmen working extra hours on the streets,” the mayor replied, and clarified: “The existence of a fee? Well. Maybe. Yes. That’s conceivable. The existence of that fee or some kind of limit.” to be able to charge some of that fee for ordering and organizing, but to expect that fee to pay for the police deployment that a fraternity needs in the historical center of Seville.. There is no fee that can be made. I paid it.”

Is it this much expense? Sanz did not go into details or go further. He limited himself to explaining that even if implemented, it would not be possible for a ‘fraternity rate’ to cover 100% of the costs. A review of city regulations gives an idea of ​​how much a fraternity’s “extraordinary departure” to the city could cost. Seville newspaper He details that the extra hour of a patrol car with two agents costs 145 euros. And if reinforcement is added, the cost increases.

The debate is not entirely new. A month earlier, the same newspaper had stated that Seville would add 52 parades in the final period of the year, including the big parade on December 8; This was a display of religious fervor that would be difficult to counter by normal police forces on a weekend. Therefore, he warned about the need to resort to agencies that work overtime or productivity. According to data obtained by the newspaper, the City Council will fivefold increase the efficiency of the Local Police. This figure is probably not explained by religious observance alone, but the data gives an idea of ​​the challenge this represents for council coffers.

What did the brothers say? They don’t seem to like the idea very much. ABC He spoke to some people after the mayor’s interview, and many of those responsible made the same argument: Not all public events held on city streets that require the presence of local representatives are religious celebrations. There are races, walks… After a long break, etc. “The brothers can be no more or less than other demonstrations that occupy public roads,” says Aníbal Toravuela, elder brother of the Amargura brotherhood.

“In addition to the fact that we pay a lot of taxes throughout the year, the City Council needs to be at the service of the brotherhoods,” says Andrés Martín of Pastora de Santa Marina. There are also those who emphasize the benefits of the marches to the city, remember the social work carried out by the brothers, and directly warn that they cannot afford such a fee.

So what happens now? It didn’t take long for Sanz to react. After the uproar created by his remarks, he returned to the topic to eliminate the possibility of a ‘sibling tax’. He argues that religious activities such as processions, rosary ceremonies, image transfers, extraordinary trips, evangelistic missions should be organised… However, he says “there is no debate” about a certain ratio.

The mayor argues that such a tax “will not help” solve this problem. “Not on my desk or on anyone else’s.” Andalusian Post Office It is estimated that last year alone, more than 450 foreign missions were carried out in the capital of Andalusia, requiring the deployment of significant personnel with hundreds of agents.

Pictures | Jon Connell (Flickr) and Canal Sur Media (Flickr)

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