08:28 PM
A avalanche of proposals for archive the project or postpone the discussion prevented this Tuesday the House of Representatives would define the fate of the bullfights in Colombia.
Only until this Wednesday, starting at 1:00 in the afternoon, the country will know if in its fourth and final debate the pLenaria approves the project to prohibit bullfighting or if, as has happened repeatedly, the project is archived.
The representatives were gathered from 2:00 in the afternoon and until after 8:00 at night. In the middle of the initiative process there were several requests to archive the project, either due to questions regarding the legitimacy of the Executive’s initiatives (after the scandal over alleged corruption and bribery for the reforms), as well as by various proposals to give scope to the articles of the initiative.
In fact, the session was chaired by Andrés Calle, from the Liberal Party, to whom Sneyder Pinilla, former deputy director of Disasters of the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (Ungrd), pointed to him and the president of the Senate, Iván Name, to receive alleged bribes of money stolen from the alleged irregularities in the tank cars for La Guajira. Specifically, Name would have received $3,000 million and Calle $1,000 million.
Despite these questions and the calls of several representatives because Calle was absent from conducting the debate, finally ended up leading the session, in which they were also heard to mayors of cities with a clear bullfighting economic vocation (such as Manizales or Duitama), as well as leaders in the sector.
The initiative seeks prohibit only bullfighting, pointing out that they are “an expression that “attacks the dignity and life of animals.” To do this, it establishes a three-year transition process, that is, it does not immediately prohibit bullfighting.
Along these lines, they are also considered job retraining programs with those who subsist with this job and taking into account bullfighting families. Furthermore, the project is committed to transform the bullringssince it is estimated that today 90% of these scenarios are underutilized two or three days a year or abandoned.
“They will be suitable for concerts, fairs, leisure activities, sports or as commercial establishments that will boost the economy and employment,” the initiative states.
