"They're destroying us": The Valencian government of PP-Vox cuts 50% of the budget for the Muixerangues.

The muixerangues have suffered a severe blow: the Valencian Institute of Culture (ICV) has cut its budget for Valencian tradition by half for 2025. The Coordinating Federation of Muixerangues considers it "a clear political decision against Valencian popular culture and everything it represents," according to a statement denouncing the issue.

The reduction in contributions means having to face a very adverse situation. "They're destroying us; we can't do anything, because the insurance for the groups is already more than 20,000 euros," says Berta Ruscalleda, president of the Federation. A significant portion of the budget also goes to inviting Catalan human tower groups to perform at muixerangue gatherings. "We don't know when we can allocate for this, so all visibility is lost," she says, adding that at the moment the muixerangue gathering "is completely unviable."

The Federation has already had to make some cuts, and has, for example, eliminated the service they had for managing social media.

A decision made behind the scenes

The way the Federation learned of the decision was also not well received. Last year, Joan Cerveró, the director of Music and Popular Culture at the ICV, assured them that the subsidy would not be touched. However, this March, a former president of the Federation warned them that, through contacts, he had learned that a reduction of 15,000 euros was planned. However, this June, the ICV informed them by phone that the first cut was a draft and that the final amount was 30,000 euros. Ruscalleda is hurt by how the decision was made and communicated. "The first news—official, that is—we received via WhatsApp," she laments. She admits that they already anticipated some cuts: "We expected it because, in the end, the government is what it is."

Street demonstrations

The president asserts that until now they had maintained a neutral position toward the government "because, in the end, the muixeranga is a reflection of society, and society has many colors, and all our groups have many colors." Until now, they had not joined the demonstrations calling for the resignation of Carlos Mazón as president of the Generalitat Valenciana. Now, however, both the Federation and all the groups have done so, along with the Nueva Muixeranga de Algemesí, which had done so previously. This July, they also began holding street protests to raise awareness of the problem. "We want people to know what the government is doing, how it is destroying culture and everything that has some aspect of Valencian identity," Ruscalleda states.

The budget cuts contrast with the positive momentum the muixeranga have experienced in recent years. Currently, the Federation represents 25 groups, including the one in Barcelona. Likewise, recently, figures that had never been seen before have emerged, and there are groups that are growing.