Free glasses to see the eclipse: where to get them and who will distribute them

For visual safety campaigns to go from voluntary to mandatory in Spain, it is usually necessary for a law-level regulation or at least a state regulation (royal decree or ministerial order) to establish that obligation. The most solid route is for the Cortes Generales to approve a law that sets the general framework and authorizes the Government to develop the technical details. Afterwards, autonomous communities and even municipalities may also intervene, depending on whether the campaign affects health, consumer protection, road safety, or occupational risk prevention.

1. Approval of a law in the Cortes Generales

1.1. Who can initiate the law

To impose mandatory campaigns by law (for example, visual warnings in advertising, health centers, or companies), the general procedure would be followed:

• Bill: presented by the Government after processing a preliminary draft in the Council of Ministers (usually preceded by public consultation and hearing if it is a significant reform).
• Private member's bill: presented by deputies, parliamentary groups, the Senate, autonomous assemblies, or a popular legislative initiative.

1.2. Processing in the Congress of Deputies

In the Congress, the following general steps apply (according to the typical legislative procedure):

• Admission and consideration (in private member's bills): the Plenary decides whether to process it or not.
• Assignment to committee: the Board of the Congress sends the text to the competent committee (for example, Health, Consumer Affairs, Interior, or Labor, depending on the campaign's focus).
• Amendment phase: parliamentary groups submit amendments to the articles (to specify which campaigns, who they obligate, sanctions, etc.).
• Committee debate and report: the committee debates the text and amendments and approves a report.
• Debate and vote in Plenary: the Plenary of the Congress debates the report and maintained amendments and votes on the final text.

For the law to be approved, usually a simple majority in the Congress Plenary is sufficient (more votes in favor than against).

1.3. Processing in the Senate and final approval

• Referral to the Senate: the text approved by the Congress goes to the Senate.
• Debate in the Senate: the Senate can approve without changes, propose amendments, or issue a veto.
• Return to the Congress: if there is a veto or amendments, the Congress decides. It can:
  • Override a veto by absolute majority (or simple majority if a certain period passes).
  • Accept or reject amendments by simple majority.
• Sanction and promulgation: the King sanctions the law, it is published in the BOE, and comes into force on the indicated date or, if none, 20 days after publication.

2. Regulatory development: royal decrees and ministerial orders

Although the general obligation can already be set in the law, it is usual that:

• The law establishes the basic framework (for example, "mandatory visual safety campaigns will be established in..." and authorizes the Government).
• The Government approves a royal decree that specifies:
  • Obligated areas (schools, workplaces, means of transport, advertising of certain products, etc.).
  • Minimum content of visual messages, formats, and media.
  • Control mechanisms and sanctioning regime (if not already in the law).
• The competent ministries (Health, Consumer Affairs, Labor, Transport, Interior...) may approve ministerial orders with even more detailed technical aspects.

These regulations are initiated by the Government (preliminary draft), go through internal and external reports (e.g., consultations, legal and economic reports), and are approved in the Council of Ministers if they are royal decrees, or by the corresponding minister if they are orders, always within the legal framework set by the Cortes.

3. Role of autonomous communities and local entities

3.1. Autonomous competencies

In areas such as health, consumer protection, education, or occupational risk prevention, autonomous communities have significant competencies. Once a basic state law and/or regulation exists, they can:

• Approve autonomous laws or their own decrees that expand or specify campaigns in their territory.
• Establish specific programs in schools, health centers, regional transport, etc.

3.2. Municipal competencies

Municipalities, within their regulatory and ordinance powers, can impose mandatory visual campaigns in:

• Public spaces owned by the municipality.
• Urban transport.
• Opening licenses for certain establishments.

They must always respect the state and autonomous framework but can go further in intensity or scope of the campaigns.

4. In summary

Making a visual safety campaign mandatory essentially involves: creating or reforming a state law that recognizes that obligation and authorizes its development; approving the regulation that will specify the content and obligated subjects; and, if applicable, complementary action by autonomous communities and municipalities that adapt and reinforce those campaigns within their competence.

The Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (MICIU) does not have an isolated "astronomical competence" in the law, but it does assume, within its general functions of scientific policy and scientific culture, the promotion of outreach activities about astronomical phenomena. This is mainly articulated through the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT), public research organizations such as the CSIC, and specific bodies created to monitor major events, such as the Interministerial Commission for the Trio of Eclipses 2026‑2028. Additionally, it promotes mass dissemination and safety campaigns (such as those for the total eclipse of 2026) and accredits and networks scientific culture units that regularly program astronomy activities.

General institutional framework

The organization of MICIU is detailed in its structural royal decree (Royal Decree 472/2024, cited in the erratum published in the BOE: erratum of RD 472/2024), although the available draft only shows the correction regarding the Spanish Space Agency's assignment. This royal decree, complemented by the ministry restructuring decree (Royal Decree 829/2023) and the general department structure (Royal Decree 1230/2023 and RD 323/2024, among others), position the ministry as responsible for research, innovation, and university policy.

Within this framework, dissemination and scientific culture mainly fall on affiliated entities:

• FECYT, defined in various norms and notes as a public foundation dependent on MICIU, with the mission to "promote Spanish scientific culture and foster knowledge transfer through dissemination, education, training, information, and advice" (formulation repeated in Order CNU/1132/2025 and in BOE-published agreements, as well as ministry notes such as “Izaskun Lacunza, new director general of FECYT” and “FECYT is a bridge between science and society”).
• Public research organizations, particularly the CSIC, whose Statute (cited in agreements such as those published in BOE-A-2025-15645 and BOE-A-2025-20068) includes among its missions the "dissemination of scientific and technological research" and collaboration in outreach and scientific culture activities.

Specific competencies in astronomical phenomena

In the case of major astronomical phenomena, the clearest normative piece is the royal decree creating the Interministerial Commission for the Trio of Eclipses 2026‑2028, approved at the proposal of the Minister of Science and described by MICIU itself in this official note. That royal decree:

• Assigns the Commission to MICIU and is chaired by the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Universities.
• Establishes that its purpose is to plan and coordinate, from the General State Administration, actions related to the Trio of Eclipses, explicitly including tasks of “tourism promotion, scientific and cultural dissemination”, as well as public health and safety.
• Foresees participation of the National Astronomical Observatory, the Canary Islands Astrophysics Institute, and the Andalusian Astrophysics Institute, reinforcing the connection between scientific policy and astronomical dissemination.

In parallel, the ministry has promoted other coordination measures, such as the National Astronomy Commission, mentioned in the same note, which it shares with Transport and serves as an umbrella for state planning of sky observation activities.

Role of FECYT and the scientific culture network

Operationally, the promotion of outreach activities mainly rests on FECYT. According to the bases of specific grants (Order CNU/1132/2025), the ministry entrusts it with managing programs of the Subprogram for the Promotion of Scientific Culture and Citizen Participation in R&D&I, aimed at strengthening dissemination and communication capacities of R&D&I to society and promoting initiatives that bring scientific knowledge closer to public decision-making.

FECYT itself:

• Recognizes and accredits Scientific Culture and Innovation Units (UCC+I), which organize outreach activities, including many in astronomy, as reflected in sector news about new accreditations (for example, the report in Gaceta Médica).
• Is responsible for much of the outreach logistics of the Trio of Eclipses: campaigns, educational materials, activities with museums and science centers, as reported by both MICIU and the newspaper Demócrata in articles such as “The Government and ONCE will distribute two million glasses for free…” and “Free glasses to watch the eclipse”, detailing that FECYT distributes 300,000 glasses and develops accessible outreach campaigns and materials.

Outreach programs and events

Beyond eclipses, MICIU organizes or coordinates major general outreach programs that include astronomical content:

• European Researchers' Night: the ministry's official note on the 2025 edition ([link]) emphasizes that, with this programming, MICIU and its research bodies "strengthen their commitment to scientific dissemination and the promotion of vocations," in activities that usually include astronomical demonstrations and observations.
• Specific initiatives linked to space and astronomy, such as the “Astronaut for a Day” program mentioned in public consultation summaries of the newspaper Demócrata (“I want to influence” 9-1-2026), or the focus on space business incubators reflected in this information.

Summary

Overall, MICIU's competencies in astronomical phenomena dissemination are: designing and coordinating, through specific royal decrees, state policies for major phenomena (such as the Trio of Eclipses); directing FECYT and public research organizations in scientific culture programs; financing and regulating grants for outreach projects and stays; and activating mass education and citizen safety campaigns in collaboration with other ministries and social entities. No further information is available in the consulted sources attributing the ministry, with legal rank, an exclusive or differentiated competence on astronomy dissemination compared to other scientific dissemination.

The current president of the ONCE Social Group is Miguel Carballeda Piñeiro. Available sources repeatedly identify him as president of the ONCE Social Group, president of the General Council of ONCE, and president of the ONCE Foundation, as well as chairing the Spanish Paralympic Committee. However, in the consulted information, neither his date of birth nor a systematic detail of his previous professional career appear, so it is only possible to partially reconstruct his profile from official agreements and institutional agendas. Consequently, his current role and responsibilities can be well described, but not a "complete curriculum" in the strict sense.

Identity and current positions

The consulted institutional actors database identifies Miguel Carballeda Piñeiro as president of the National Organization of Spanish Blind People (ONCE) and head of the entity in Spain, without providing birth date or summarized biography.

Several official documents and press releases specify his current functions:

• The Basque Government, in the note about the XXVII Cascabeles Race in Vitoria-Gasteiz, expressly refers to Miguel Carballeda as “president of the ONCE Social Group”, within a public event of the organization in Euskadi (Basque Government note).
• In various agendas of the central Government, he appears as president of the ONCE Social Group or president of ONCE: meetings with the Minister of Education or the Minister of Social Rights in 2024, 2025, and 2026 (agenda 18/04/2024, agenda 19/05/2025, agenda 05/07/2024, agenda 17/06/2026, agenda 18/11/2024).
• A note from the Balearic Government about an institutional audience records that the organization's delegation was headed by “its president and also president of the Spanish Paralympic Committee (CPE), Miguel Carballeda” (Balearic Government note).

Also, in the ONCE Social Group's activity in economic and social forums, such as the New Economy Forum, he is likewise mentioned as president of the ONCE Social Group (New Economy Forum report).

Relationship with the ONCE Foundation and agreements with the Administration

The consulted sources confirm that Carballeda also holds the presidency of the ONCE Foundation, the founding arm of the ONCE Social Group. The Resolution of October 28, 2025 publishing an agreement with the Ministry of the Presidency explicitly names “Mr. Miguel Carballeda Piñeiro […] in his capacity as President of the foundation,” by virtue of a board agreement from February 2019. Based on this, it can be stated that he has presided over the ONCE Foundation at least since 2019, although the exact date he began presiding over the entire ONCE Social Group is not detailed.

In another resolution from the Ministry for Ecological Transition (agreement with the ONCE Social Group in 2025), Carballeda signs as President of the General Council of ONCE and as representative of the ONCE Social Group. This document confirms his institutional role as the highest authority of the organization's governing body.

In the field of disability and accessibility policy, he also appears as a usual interlocutor of ministries: the Territorial Policy note on promoting total accessibility mentions his participation as president of the ONCE Social Group in a meeting with Minister Ángel Víctor Torres (Territorial Policy note). And the Ministry of the Presidency highlights an agreement signed “with the president of the ONCE Social Group, Miguel Carballeda” to improve accessibility in the Justice Administration (Ministry of the Presidency note).

Role in the Paralympic movement and public projection

Carballeda's recent trajectory is closely linked to the Paralympic movement. Various notes from the Ministry of Education and Sports and the Senate mention him as president of the Spanish Paralympic Committee in events receiving Paralympic athletes and in discussions about equal prizes between Olympic and Paralympic athletes (prize equalization, reception of the Paralympic team, Senate event).

This dual role — president of the ONCE Social Group and of the CPE — gives his figure a constant presence in dialogue spaces between Government, parliaments, and the disability sector, as also seen in parliamentary appearances and events with autonomous communities.

Relationship with the social and economic model of the ONCE Social Group

From a political and socioeconomic content perspective, analyses from Demócrata and other sources indicate that the ONCE Social Group manages a broad social lottery model whose surplus finances employment and social investment. Articles in the newspaper Demócrata about the ONCE Sueldazo describe how gaming revenues are reinvested in salaries, staff, and social programs, in a business volume around 2024–2025 exceeding 2.8 billion euros (analysis on Sueldazo, article on draws, tax impact of Sueldazo, statement on the centenary of the Ardero, explanation of the Daily Coupon and Cuponazo).

In this logic, his presidency is associated with strategic alliance initiatives, such as the joint campaign with Farmaindustria to promote labor inclusion of people with disabilities in the pharmaceutical sector (coverage in Demócrata). Also, the ONCE Social Group's role as a Government partner in nationwide campaigns, such as distributing certified glasses to observe the August 2026 solar eclipse (initiative on the eclipse).

Limitations on his previous career

The consulted sources do not include data on his academic training, his first positions within ONCE, or other roles he may have held in public administrations or companies before assuming the presidency of the ONCE Social Group. Nor is there a clear start date for his mandate leading the Group, beyond references from 2019 (presidency of the ONCE Foundation) and 2023 (ONCE General Council agreement cited in the environmental agreement) in which he already appears as the top authority (agreement with the ONCE Foundation, agreement with the ONCE Social Group).

Therefore, with the available information, it can be stated that Miguel Carballeda is the current president of the ONCE Social Group, ONCE, and the ONCE Foundation, with a central role in articulating the organization's social model and representing the Spanish Paralympic movement; but no further information is available in the consulted sources to reconstruct in detail his previous professional career or complete biography.