The Attorney General of Venezuela, Tarek William Saab, has announced the suspension of the Traditions of Spain Bullfighting Festival, a bullfight that was going to take place this December 11 in Maracay, a city with a long bullfighting tradition located in the center of the country. The official referred to the event as “a public slaughter of animals” and ordered the removal of all publicity related to the activity.
The fair would be staged in a portable plaza owned by the Venezuelan matador Erick Cortez, who is a breeder of fighting bulls and is recognized because for several years he has been linked to bullfighting in the country. Cortez was going to be part of the bullfighting cartel along with the Spanish guests Manuel Escribano and David Galán. The bullfight would take place at the Parque Los Aviadores Shopping Center, in Palo Negro, a very busy area of that city. The poster featured six animals.
This is the first time that a senior official of the Venezuelan State has established positions regarding the international controversy about bullfighting as a cultural practice, and a judicial measure has been issued to prevent it. Bullfights are not formally prohibited in Venezuela, and they continue to be organized relatively quietly in some areas of the country.
In his tenure as Attorney General, since 2017, Saab has specialized in penalizing immediately, and as never before in the administration of justice in the country, any event that is at odds with the mistreatment or trafficking of animals.
The so-called brave festival was an extremely popular activity in the first decades of 20th century Venezuela and the most outstanding Spanish bullfighters were idols of the fans. However, the festival began to decline precipitously from the nineties, to the same extent that organized groups of civil society and activists in defense of animals increased questions about the martyrdom and final destination of fighting bulls in The squares.
Although it has already disappeared in Caracas, bullfighting remains a popular festival in central and western Venezuela, particularly in the cities of Valencia, Maracay, San Cristóbal and Mérida, in which they are part of a long and deeply rooted tradition.
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