Colombia’s Constitutional Court ruled Tuesday that mayors are not allowed to ban bullfights in their cities.
In its ruling, the court specified that informal bullfights held outside permanent arenas — like the popular “carrolejas” — may be banned, but that traditional bullfighting falls within the law and that “no mayor … may put himself above the law.”
The ruling is a blow for Bogota Mayor Gustavo Petro who refused to grant licenses to organizers of bullfights in the capital and said “there will not be a single peso spent on this type of event.”
While supported by animal rights activists, Petro’s anti-bullfighting stance was rejected by bullfighters and bullfight organizers who consider the spectacle part of Colombia’s cultural heritage.
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