Mexico City has taken an initial step on the road to banning one of the icons of Latin culture—bullfighting.
By a vote of three in favor, two abstentions, the Mexico City Legislative Assembly’s Commission of Local Public Administration (ALDF) has passed a prohibition bill on to the Assembly for consideration. The bill would modify Article 42 of the Law for the Celebration of Public Spectacles in Mexico City, making bullfighting illegal.
Animal rights activists and others often criticize the sport because it is a slow, torturous, violent way for the bulls to die.
In the assembly, comprised mostly of liberal Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) members, the main concern will be for the livelihoods of those in the industry. Legislator Karen Quiroga spoke of the need for debate on the matter, “The underlying reasons are the jobs that it generates.”
The Canary Islands and Catalonia in Spain, and all of Ecuador have recently banned bullfighting. If such an initiative has a chance of success anywhere in Mexico, it would be in the Federal District, which has already legalized abortion and same-sex marriage.