A cultural spectacle for some, an unacceptable butchery for others. In the largest arena in the world, bullfighting resumed on Sunday in Mexico City, after more than a year of a ban finally canceled by the Supreme Court, to the great anger of the anti-bullfighting people who came forward.
Tens of thousands of “aficionados” took over the “plaza” (which can accommodate up to 41,000 people seated) for the first bullfight of the season, with the Mexican bullfighter Joselito Adame, injured in April of a horn blow to the left leg.
A cordon of police between those for and against
” Freedom. Bulls, living culture,” we read in the middle of the arena where Joselito Adame and Diego Silveri carried out the first kills, under the traditional white handkerchiefs. Joselito Adame thanked in a written message “the entire Mexican public represented this afternoon by all those present at the Mexico City bullring, an unrivaled public that keeps bullfighting alive, patient for its return, affectionate, critical and passionate.”
The arenas were protected by a cordon of police to block the march of opponents of bullfighting who marched under the slogan “torture is neither art nor culture”. “It’s important to be here because they are going to resume their barbarity, their cruelty, their massacre, that must not happen, and we must send them a fairly clear message,” explained a demonstrator, Gabriela Martinez, 62 years old, with tears in his eyes.
A referendum planned
Bullfights were banned in June 2022 following the decision of a judge in Mexico City ruling on a complaint from an animal rights organization, Justicia Justa. On December 6, 2023, the Supreme Court annulled this decision, without ruling on the merits of the appeal. Anti-bullfighting people are betting everything on a final decision in the coming weeks.
Bullfights were imported by the Spanish “conquistadores” in the 16th century. The sector generated a turnover of $414 million in 2018, with 83,000 direct jobs, argue the “aficionados”. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has suggested a referendum in the capital on the future of bullfighting. Four of Mexico’s 32 states ban them.