Animal rights activists gathered on Tuesday outside the Congress of Mexico City as the legislative session began. They demanded local legislators to green-light an initiative that would prohibit bullfighting in the capital.
Amid chants like "It's going to fall, it's going to fall, the Bullring and the torture will fall," the demonstrators urged the lawmakers to proceed with the bill of the initiative. They criticized that it had been delayed supposedly due to business interests.
Arturo Berlanga, representative of AnimaNaturalis, urged lawmakers to respect the laws and to advance the discussion of the measure. Additionally, he criticized the position of Deputy Pedro Haces Lago, who is in favor of bullfighting. In Berlanga's words: "If he doesn't like it, he should resign."
Berlanga also mentioned that it is shameful to see political figures like former President Vicente Fox, Gabriel Quadri, and Haces Lago himself oppose the powers that be but defend bullfighting.
In support of the demonstrators, Jesús Sesma, coordinator of the Green Party in the local Congress, highlighted the lack of definition from some lawmakers regarding this issue and expressed: "The only thing I ask is that whoever is in favor or against says so, but they are afraid."
On the other hand, Royfid Torres, coordinator of the orange bloc of Movimiento Ciudadano in the Congress of Mexico City, announced that his party would join the block seeking to prohibit bullfighting, stating that "we are in favor of the initiative against bullfighting."
Meanwhile, amid this discussion, the anniversary bullfight took place on February 5 at the La México Bullring.
