Guadalajara city hall is moving forward with a ban on equine participation in the decades-old calandria (horse-drawn carriage) tradition in the city center, despite growing concerns at how the changeover is being managed.
This week, Merilyn Gómez Pozos, municipal director of Animal Rights announced that the first ten electric-powered vehicles that will replace the horses and carriages will begin service in October. (This is still pending a final vote by the Guadalajara city council.)
The vehicles are due to be presented to the media and the public at the Rotunda de Jaliscienses Illustres on Wednesday, August 9.
Gómez said it will take a year to replace all 55 horse-drawn carriages currently in use in the city center.
Pedro Aguilar, secretary general of the carriage drivers’ union, says he and his fellow drivers have been left in the dark by the government as to their futures. “Ever since the proposal was put to us we’ve been in talks with city hall, but they still haven’t shown us a single document detailing obligations, rights, clauses, etcetera. We therefore haven’t signed anything yet, and won’t until we’ve reviewed the document with our lawyers.”
Guadalajara Mayor Enrique Alfaro’s adversaries in the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) have taken his backing of the bill as an opportunity to paint him as an authoritarian bully, contending that the horse-banning law has been deliberately sequestered from citizen-led review or input.
“The current lack of an attempt to explain the calandria renovation project once again demonstrates the authoritarianism which characterizes how the mayor makes his decisions,” said Sergio Otal Lobo, the PRI coordinator in Guadalajara’s council chamber, who with his party intends to try and stall the vote pending a citizens’ consultation.
One of the mysteries most prevalent in people’s minds, in particular those of calandria owners and animal-rights activists, is the fate of the animals whose well-being forms the raison d’etre of the contested law.
Guadalajara-based organization Unidad de Proteccion Animal would like to see the horses sent to places where they have a defined purpose and their well-being is insured.
“I was thinking of donating my horse to a place that specializes in equine therapy,” said Juan Carlos Anzures, a calandria owner. “I don’t want it to end up on some trail.”
One of the details of the program that the public has been privy to is the extent to which private enterprise will be involved in the calandrias’ motorized replacement: Mexican electronics manufacturer Kadled is donating the specialized vehicles to the new program. In exchange, the company will have exclusive rights to advertise on the vehicles for the next 20 years.
“Contaminating the city for 20 years in favor of a company is an affront to our rights, in this case that of inhabitants’ right against visual contamination,” Lobo commented.
Not to be left out of the political feeding frenzy, Alfonso Petersen Farah, leader of the Partido Accion Nacional (PAN) block in the city council, pointed out that the horse-drawn carriage traditions of cities around the world, including New York, Toronto and Washington, remain intact and well-run.
“The point is to maintain supervision that insures that the health and well-being of the horses is respected,” he said.