Bullfighting Fans and Foes Clash in Mérida Monument

A demonstration against bullfighting turned tense Sunday at Mérida’s Monumento a la Patria, after supporters of the tradition showed up to confront animal rights activists gathered at the landmark on Paseo de Montejo.

The protest against bullfighting had been organized in advance to back federal injunctions won by the groups Animal Heroes and PETA Latino, which have blocked bullfights in at least four Yucatán municipalities when the events involve killing or injuring the bull. Only five activists turned out, and police posted officers near them as a protective measure, according to Diario de Yucatán.

But the demonstration drew a counter-crowd of bullfighting supporters, who arrived chanting slogans in favor of the “fiesta brava.” Activists said they had received threats beforehand, including claims that a bull would be let loose against them. As supporters pushed toward the monument’s steps, officers with the Secretaría de Seguridad Pública moved between the two groups to keep the confrontation from escalating further, news outlet Haz Ruido reported.

One of the tensest moments came when former bullfighter Michel Luis Carlos Lagravere Peniche, known as “Michelito,” walked up to a protester and shouted, “Son cuatro gatos, puto. Nos vemos atrás” — roughly, “There’s only a handful of you, you [slur]. We’ll settle this later” — an insult Haz Ruido described as loaded with classist and homophobic undertones. Journalists covering the scene confronted him over the outburst, which only raised the temperature further.

Leading the bullfighting contingent was businesswoman Diana Peniche Marenco, Michelito’s mother and the sister of Mérida city councilman Manuel Peniche Marenco. She shoved several female journalists who were documenting the demonstration, then mocked and threatened members of the press afterward, according to Haz Ruido.

Bullfighting supporters offered a different version of events. Tradición Toro Bravo Yucatán, a Facebook page for bullfighting fans, said the same “six or seven” activists who always show up were the ones who wouldn’t stop hurling verbal attacks from the moment they arrived, and rejected as false the reports that its side had been the aggressor.

Chants of “bulls yes, bullfighters no” from the animal rights side mixed with “libertad, libertad” from bullfighting supporters for several minutes before police fully separated the crowds.

Once the standoff eased, the bullfighting supporters continued their demonstration and marched down Paseo de Montejo, some on horseback. Lawyer Marco Mendoza Bastarrachea, who took part in the march, said the group had turned out to defend bullfighting as part of Yucatán’s traditions and culture, tying the practice to town festivals, vaquerías, guilds and religious processions and describing it as a livelihood for many who work in the industry, directly or indirectly. Fellow participant Antonio Rivera Ramírez pointed to what he described as the long history of bullfighting in Yucatán and its ties to patron saint festivals and tablados.

On the other side, animal rescuer Elsa Arceo said her group came to the monument to keep up a visible presence against bullfights that harm animals, but stressed they aren’t opposed to the box holders and vendors who make a living off the events — only to the violence against the bull. She argued that any version of the spectacle that continues locally should drop the killing of the animal, pointing to Mexico City’s rules allowing “bloodless” bullfights, where the bull leaves the ring alive. During the standoff, she urged fellow activists not to respond to provocations and said her group planned to stay at the monument while bullfighting supporters continued their march.

The clash is the latest flashpoint in an ongoing legal and social fight over bullfighting in Yucatán, where courts have blocked individual events through injunctions even as the practice remains legal statewide. Several other Mexican states have banned bullfighting outright in recent years, though Mexico’s Supreme Court overturned a similar ban in Mexico City after an appeal from bullfighting supporters.