Many protested outside the Plaza de México bullring. Image:AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
Bullfighting returns to Mexico City amid protests.
After nearly two years, animal rights activists have demonstrated against the bullfighting’s return to Mexico City.
On Sunday, the city hosted its first bullfight since 2022.
In agreement with animal rights activists who had filed a lawsuit, a judge had ordered the practice, which has been around in Mexico since the 16th century, to be suspended indefinitely.
Although the Supreme Court overturned the ruling last month, advocates and opponents are likely to go to court.
The judges have not yet made a decision on the merits of the case, according to local media, and have only ruled on technical issues.
Protesters yelled, “Torture is not art, it is not culture,” close to the Plaza de México bullring, the biggest bullring in the world.
Individuals held banners with messages such as “no more deaths of innocents” in them. Others painted themselves crimson and donned masks shaped like bulls.
Mexico City’s bullring is the largest in the world – it was packed for Sunday’s spectacle.Image:AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
However, thousands of people inside the arena cheered “long live freedom” as they welcomed its return.
Mexico City’s bullfighting industry may be subject to a referendum on its future, according to President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
Bullfighting kills about 250,000 bulls annually worldwide, according to Humane Society International. One of the few nations that currently permits the practice is Mexico, where bullfighting is still permitted in many locations.
France, Portugal, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, and Ecuador are among the other nations. Although it’s legal in Spain as well, certain localities have made it illegal.