2023-05-11 00:08:00
Manuelín is the name of a donkey that has been used as a tourist attraction in Acapulco, Guerrero. It is a tradition that dates back to the 1960s, when the so-called ‘Burro de la Roqueta’, whose purpose was to transport Diesel to power the lighthouse engine at night and thus illuminate the beach. Over the years, the donkeys have been replaced, but the idea that it is a tradition and, even more worrying, that it is a way of entertaining tourists.
Two animal protection organizations have raised their voices against the abuse they are suffering Manuelin, a donkey that is forced to drink beer and is subjected to noise and pulling all day. In a video shared by the Twitter account Defensoría Animal MX, you can see how a group of men struggle and laugh at the donkey. “(They generate) unnecessary stress for a highly intelligent and sensitive animal, the sole purpose of entertaining ignorant and retrograde tourism, they have previously mistreated other donkeys and nothing happens. They show tourists a violent Mexico,” the description reads. from the tweet.
Despite being recorded by various people, and the fact that comments rejecting the facts are heard in the video, the men do not stop bothering the donkey. The animal was transferred to Roqueta Island last weekend by the municipal president Abelina López Rodríguez herself. In the complaints, she and the governor of Guerrero, Evelyn Salgado, were asked to take action on the matter, since it has been documented that the donkeys of La Roqueta are forced to drink beer so that they can be mounted and photographed by the tourists.
The organization People for Animal Defense (GEPDA) urged respect for the Law 491 of Animal Welfare of the State of Guerrero, which clearly establishes that animal violence can cause social violence. “Animal abuse is, at the same time, a factor that predisposes to social violence and, at the same time, a consequence of it. It is part of the cascade of violence that is reaching us all as individuals and as a society. Today, the good treatment of animals would be the reflection of a society that sensitizes citizens to maintain solidarity and responsible relationships with others, especially with the weakest”. The penalties for those who violate this law range from six months to four years in prison.
The ‘Donkey of the Roqueta’ is attributed a historical condition for Acapulco, since it has served as a magnet for tourists. It is known as the ‘chelero donkey’, because supposedly not having a drink when it was under the care of the lighthouse keeper, it would go down to the beach and consume the bottles of beer that the tourists had left scattered on the sand. Although this version, which is handled by local media as historical precedent, was true, it all stems from irresponsibility: an animal that does not have the necessary food and must find a way to survive on its own.
The way to romanticize this irresponsibility was to attribute nicknames and abilities (drinking beer) to the donkey, as if it were a source of pride and not something that alters their system and denotes violent behavior towards them. Worse still that they are deliberately given beer and used as objects that must fulfill the whims of tourists, just because that’s how they understand tradition.
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