Mexico's highest court has opened the door to the eventual return of bullfighting to the country's capital, suspended since June 2022, a source close to the process said Wednesday.
A chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice revoked a judge's ruling that indefinitely suspended bullfights at Plaza Mexico, the largest in the world with a capacity of 50,000 spectators, the company that manages the arena said in a statement.
The Second Chamber "resolved to lift the suspension that weighed on the possibility of carrying out bullfighting shows" in Plaza Mexico, the company said.
The ruling has not yet been published, but the company acknowledged that a return of the fiesta brava will not be immediate. "We will be attentive to the legal process and notifications ... so that in the near future we can announce the resumption of bullfighting activities," he added.
According to the newspaper Reforma, the magistrates only ruled on "technical aspects" of the suspension granted by the judge when he ruled on an appeal filed by the NGO Justicia Justa against the regulations that endorse bullfighting in the capital.
But that judge still needs to rule on the merits of the case, that is, the legality of the rules that authorize bullfighting, according to the newspaper.
Bullfighting shows are banned in five of Mexico's 32 states, where these festivals have a five-century-old tradition and have brought in significant revenues.
The debate around bulls is latent in several countries. In Bogotá and Quito, with a long history of bullfighting, it is forbidden to kill the bull in the ring, while Venezuela has canceled some bullfights and in Peru the justice system refused to ban them in 2020.
Other countries where bullfighting is allowed include Spain, Portugal and France, where just over a year ago a lawmaker withdrew his bill to abolish bullfighting, denouncing parliamentary "obstruction" at the start of its debate in the French National Assembly.
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- Mexico