BULLFIGHTING would make a comeback in Mexico City after a legal tussle led to a more than one-year suspension at the world’s largest bullring, organisers announced yesterday.

Mexico, and in particular the 50,000-capacity Plaza de Toros in the capital, has long been a bastion of bullfights.

But in June 2022, a judge ordered the indefinite suspension of the centuries-old practice in Mexico City, agreeing with animal rights activists who had filed suit.

Last month, the Supreme Court revoked the decision, although according to Mexican media, judges only ruled on technical aspects and have yet to decide on the case’s merits.

On January 28, matadors in Mexico City will resume the tradition brought by Spanish conquistadors five centuries ago, Plaza de Toros director Mario Zulaica told a news conference.

During the suspension, “thousands of people could not freely exercise their profession, a fundamental right enshrined in our constitution. Thousands of people were unable to enjoy their right to culture”, he said.

Following the Supreme Court decision, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador proposed a referendum on the future of bullfighting in Mexico City.

So far, only a handful of Mexico’s 32 states have banned the practice, which in 2018 generated an estimated US$343 million (RM1.6 billion) in revenue and employed around 80,000 people. – AFP, January 12, 2024.