Mexico: Bullfighting opponents put pressure on Congress

A group of bullfighting opponents protested on the steps of Congress in Mexico City on Tuesday.

They threatened a sit-in until legislators bring a bill to ban bullfighting up for debate.

The gathering was called by the First Sit-In for the Abolition of Bullfighting in Mexico, whose activists had already stationed themselves outside the Federal District's legislative assembly for 44 days in 2017.

Bill to ban bullfighting

Last December, the animal welfare committee of the capital's legislature passed a decree that, if adopted, would provide for a ban on bullfighting.

The bill aims to «prohibit the holding of events in which bulls, oxen or calves are mistreated, tortured or deprived of their lives».

The measure stipulates that the political constitution of Mexico City recognises the protection of animals «as sentient beings» and asserts that they should therefore be treated with dignity and respect.

However, since the document was passed, it has not yet been debated in plenary session, which has caused unease among animal welfare advocates.

Activists call for a vote

«We are here to apply pressure. We want the initiative to come before the plenary and be put to a vote. We do not want the interests of bullfighting entrepreneurs to prevail,» said Alma Rosa Vazquez, a member of the animal welfare group.

According to members of the group, they intend to organise various protests to put pressure on local legislators to take up the issue again and not «let it fade into oblivion».

The demonstrators announced that they will gather again on 13 January to stage a sit-in outside the capital's congress, as they did in 2017.

«A lot has happened in four years. We are the majority. Fortunately, the new generations already know that bullfighting is violence and torture», said Zoyla Alejandra Rosales.

Majority of the population in favour of abolition

According to the Ecological Green Party of Mexico (PVEM), which along with the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) is among the political groups supporting the decree, more than 70% of the population in Mexico is in favour of abolishing bullfighting, a percentage that is similarly high in the capital.

In Mexico, bullfighting is already banned in the states of Sonora, Guerrero and Coahuila, while it has been declared a cultural and heritage asset in Aguascalientes, Tlaxcala, Hidalgo, Queretaro, Zacatecas, Michoacan and Guanajuato. Further information on the animal welfare issue can be found in the dossiers of Wild beim Wild.