Many of the jokes we laugh at today are an adaptation of old stories about priests, politicians, … Their formats have changed but not their substance: laughing at those who are in charge.
It’s something like “if you can’t disobey, make fun”.
Besides, stories and jokes have no other boundaries than one’s sense of humour. That’s why very similar stories are told in very different countries; there are stories that are known to be very … Galician, Spanish, French, English,… which are told in China or Vietnam too.
It is as if the globalisation of humour came before economic globalisation.