Bullfighting: Mexico City Close to Abolishing 500-Year-Old Tradition

After five centuries, bullfighting could be banished from Mexico City by a parliamentary initiative that confronts the theses of animal abuse and the rights of minorities.

Although the debate is not new in this metropolis that houses the largest bullring in the world -for 50,000 spectators-, it is the first time that the local Congress votes in favor of banning the wild party.

The only thing missing is a plenary vote, with no set date, after the endorsement last December by the Animal Welfare Commission, which at the same time opened a dialogue with those affected.

Comparing their cause with that of the LGBTI community or the decriminalization of abortion, bullfighting affirm that there is a “era of respect for minorities” and to “free thought”.

“Where does the word prohibit fit?”, tells AFP Rafael Cué, chronicler and member of Mexican Bullfighting, which brings together fans, breeders, matadors and bullfighting businessmen.

Bastion of bullfights in Latin America, Mexico City is also a progressive stronghold, a pioneer in issues such as equal marriage or legal abortion, in addition to the recognition of animals as subjects of law and dignified treatment, according to the local constitution of 2017.

Mexican bullfighting questions whether “public powers” can impose “moral options of a group of society to the rest of the citizens”.

“It could, in this way, prohibit the legal interruption of pregnancy or same-sex marriage”, he claimed in a statement.

They propose that the initiatives that seek to abolish shows where animals are mistreated to the point of death be debated from the perspective of “freedoms” And not from “tastes, fashions or the politically correct”.

animals not things

For the leftist deputy Jorge Gaviño, promoter of these laws in the local Congress, the bullfighting argument assumes that “animals are things” and ignore concepts like “fuzzy right”, where acts such as mistreatment in a public space impact a community.

“It affects me indirectly when they kill and injure a ‘sentient’ animal in a public square for fun. It is affecting my coexistence in society, so I have the obligation and the right to act against this supposed right of a minority third party”, points out Gavino.

Part of the poster for the capital season that ended on Sunday, Juan Pedro Llaguno, a 22-year-old Mexican bullfighter and grandson of breeders, reports that “Many times” has killed animals that he has known since they were born, something he defines as “a divine sensation.

“Having the privilege of being able to fight him is the most beautiful thing there is because I have known him since I was little and I can finally get to the ring with him to create something unforgettable, something inexplicable”, he tells AFP.

Llaguno emphasizes that the brave bull “born to be fought” and die in the square. “It is the way to say goodbye to life with dignity, with the public recognizing your bravery”.

Four Mexican states prohibit bullfighting: Sonora, Coahuila (north), Guerrero (south), and Quintana Roo (southeast). Another seven protect them as cultural heritage.

region discussion

But Gaviño, from the PRD party, asserts that “scientifically it can be proven” that the animal suffers during the fight.

In their defense, bullfighting also claims the economic value of the show cattle industry in Mexico: in 2018 it moved US$343 million, creating some 80,000 direct jobs and 146,000 indirect jobs, according to sector data corroborated by the Ministry of Agriculture.

Much of this spill occurs in the capital, although 80% of the festivities take place in towns in the rest of the country, Cué points out.

Although open to seeking alternatives for those who depend on bullfighting, Gaviño considers it unacceptable that “economic situations” truncate the ban.

The debate about bullfighting extends to countries in the region such as Venezuela, with a long bullfighting tradition. Judges banned celebrations in two states in December and January, while the attorney general, Tarek William Saab, calls these events “public killings”.

There is also a bill that would prohibit shows with animal abuse.

In June 2020, Bogotá decided to ban the mistreatment and death of the bull in bullfights. In contrast, the highest court in Peru that same year refused to outlaw them.

The other countries where they are allowed are Spain, France, Portugal and Ecuador, although in the latter several cities, including Quito, outlawed the death of the bull in the ring in 2011.