Bullfighting
in Mexico
Political,
economic and educational strategies brick the pyramid of WSPA's anti-bullfighting
campaign in Latin America. Laura Salter reports.
The greatest adversaries
to the campaign dwell in Mexico, the true stronghold of the bullfighting industry
in the Americas. Here, thousands of events take place annually resulting in
the torture and death of tens of thousands of bulls. Arena owners rake in millions
of dollars in blood money from Mexicans and tourists. Because of the magnitude
of suffering here, Mexico has become the spotlight of WSPA's efforts in Latin
America.
In March, WSPA celebrated
a true landslide victory when the results of public opinion polls pointed to
a strong majority against bullfights. Fifty thousand residents in twelve states
of the Mexican Union were asked eight questions about the ethics of torturing
and killing animals for amusement. A startling 87% answered in opposition to
the bullfights.
When the findings of
this poll were unveiled at a March press conference, they were not surprisingly
met with scepticism. Representatives from WSPA, the Humane Society International
(HSI) and Mexico's Green Party took the stage to answer the questions of a flock
of reporters, many of whom seemed bent on discrediting the legitimacy of the
poll. Gerardo Huertas, WSPA's regional director for Latin America, pledged to
commission more research to confirm the findings. "By the end of 1998, we aim
to poll another 100,000 people and I'm confident that the results will continue
to prove that the majority of Mexicans have lost their appetite for the cruel
dish of bullfighting", he commented.
But public opposition
alone will not stop bullfighting. Activism is required in order for reform to
take place. WSPA's campaign is also attempting to inspire the public to play
a more participatory role in its abolition. Huertas explains, "We have devised
a new strategy to overcome the complacency that has taken hold of many Mexicans.
A pioneering public education program is being devised to make people think
harder about why they need to make sure bullfighting is outlawed."
One of the slogans to
be used on forthcoming leaflets and billboards reads: "The salaries of bullfight
arena workers are paid by your taxes. Those same taxes could pay for more teachers
in your child's school. Which one would you choose?"
Another focus of WSPA's
campaign has been the city of Cancun, a major tourist centre on the Eastern
Coast of Mexico. Here tourism is the exclusive source of revenue for the bullfight
industry, where the Plaza Cancun owned by Jorge Avila brings in $1.2 million
a year. Posters advertising the arena as a cultural attraction blanket the city.
Huertas and Alvara Pasado
of the HSI recently met with Avila and learned that although the number of fights
has been reduced during the past few years, tourists are still crowding the
arena. More than 90 per cent of the spectators are American and Canadian. Each
tourist pays a ticket price of about $29 (US) for a two-hour show that includes
dances, rodeo, greased pig chases and finally a bullfight. When the arena opened
seven years ago the show included four kills; however, Avila soon learned that
audiences disappear quickly after being startled by the cruelty for which many
are not prepared.
Drawing on partnerships
with North American travel firms, WSPA and the HSI have developed the Travel
Partners for Animal Welfare Programme to warn tourists at the time of booking
a vacation of the cruelties in a bullfight and importance of boycotting. The
Attorney General of Tourism in Cancun has also been asked to consider a proposal
to label publicity posters with a warning that bullfighting is a violent spectacle
unsuitable for minors. He has yet to reach a decision.
Political support for
the campaign is also growing. In 1997, the Green Party became an established
national political force in Mexico represented by 16 members of the Chamber
of Representatives and three senators. Party President Jorge Gonzalez Torres
has thrown the support of the party behind the anti-bullfight campaign by sponsoring
public opinion polls and supporting WSPA's humane education program in Mexico.
Last March, the party
sponsored a seminar in Mexico City for an audience of legislators, education
officials, environmental advisors and animal protectionists. At the seminar,
WSPA's Respect for All Forms of Life elementary education curriculum was unveiled
to the audience and copies distributed. The Green Party has agreed to reproduce
and distribute the curriculum and teacher's materials to primary schools throughout
the federal district.
Also helping to promote
the schools' humane education programme is WSPA's mascot Pepe the bull. Pepe
was born in Spain almost a decade ago. He is not a real bull, but a fictional
character with bright eyes and a big heart. Wearing long red pants and a yellow
shirt that says "No More Violence", Pepe is working his way through the Mexican
school systems and endearing children by the hundreds.
Pepe first became active
in Mexico City in 1996 when Miss Flor Bermejo helped to create a seven-foot
tall costume of the character so that he could begin a personal tour of schools
in the capital. Today the costume is worn by Leonardo Diaz, a tireless advocate
of the anti-bullfight campaign. In truth, wearing this costume is no small feat.
It weighs close to 30 pounds and is equipped with a battery-powered fan to keep
Diaz from becoming overcome by the heat.
School children are
not the only ones coming to the realisation that bullfights have no place in
a humane society. Success has come in many regions of Latin America this year.
For example, officials in La Paz, Bolivia, recently passed an ordinance prohibiting
bullfights involving the stabbing and killing of bulls. After being invited
to one of WSPA/HSI's anti-bullfighting seminars in Mexico City, authorities
say their decision to stop the killing of bulls was based in part on their belief
that violence in the arena teaches children to be cruel to animals rather than
protectors of their environment. In Panama, Honduras and the Dominican Republic
similar rulings have been made following attempts to set up Spanish style bullfights.
In Panama, Matadors were fined $1000 for each animal they killed during an event
in 1996.
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Also, in Santa Catarina,
Brazil, steps are being taken to abolish the Farra Do Boi fiestas in which bulls
are attacked in an arena much like a bullring. In April, WSPA and its member
societies held a massive campaign to urge authorities and local people to comply
with a new ruling banning the Farra do Boi events. Although some events did
go ahead as scheduled during Holy Week, many more were stopped by police who
confiscated bulls from pick up trucks and prevented crowds from staging this
blood sport.
For Gerardo Huertas,
the law banning Farra do Boi was the culmination of years of campaigning. "We
have now won several good victories in our efforts to stop bullfighting in Latin
America, and I'm sure we will see the foundations of this brutal spectacle begin
to crumble in the coming years."
