Public Funding of Rodeo: Government Approves Over $160 Million for Medialuna Construction in Quirihue

Original article: Plata pública para el rodeo: Gobierno aprueba más de $160 millones para construir ruedo de medialuna en Quirihue

The administration of José Antonio Kast has approved a significant investment for the construction of a medialuna venue, to promote the rodeo in the commune of Quirihue, Ñuble Region, a decision that has sparked a heated debate over the use of public funds for activities involving animal cruelty.

Through the Subsecretariat of Regional and Administrative Development (Subdere), the right-wing administration allocated $160,028,072 to build this facility where huasos compete in rodeo events. The funding comes from the Urban Improvement Program (PMU), which aims to «equalize the uneven urban development and disparities in municipal capacities to provide community infrastructure and equipment,» according to its own description.

This initiative is part of a larger package of seven projects approved for different communes in Ñuble, collectively exceeding $716 million in public investment.

Diego Sepúlveda, the regional presidential delegate of Ñuble, confirmed to T13.cl that the project has received the necessary approval, with only the administrative process remaining for transferring funds to the Quirihue municipality. According to the official, construction will begin soon, and no local residents have opposed the project, stating that the community «is all happy about it.»

Financing Violence?: “A Medialuna Is Not an Innocent Project“

However, the government’s decision has faced strong criticism from animal rights organizations, such as Animal Libre, which condemned this investment as an improper use of public funds for an activity that involves systematic animal cruelty.

“A medialuna is not an innocent project. Nor is it ‘urban improvement,'» the organization founded by Mauricio Serrano in 2010 remarked, emphasizing that in such spaces “violence is contained: calves are chased, cornered, and beaten. Over and over.”

The collective firmly criticizes the fact that no urgent community needs are being funded, nor any policies promoting care or progress for the community, but rather that it strengthens «a practice where animals are forced to be victims of systematic abuse from which they cannot escape.”

“Calves are not athletes. They are not patriotic symbols. They are not instruments of national identity. They are sentient beings. And nothing justifies our exploitation of them,” asserts Animal Libre’s statement, reflecting on the harmful impact of rodeo.

The controversy goes beyond the amount of the investment and opens a broader discussion about the priorities of the Kast government. While millions are allocated to rodeo infrastructure, the organization pointed out that $160 million could be better spent on real animal protection policies, education, health, community infrastructure free from violence, or urgent territorial needs.

“But a medialuna was chosen. And that choice also speaks to the country we continue to be,” the group proclaimed in a message published on their Instagram account.

“No Public Funds Should Support Practices That Subjugate Animals”

The main concern targets the normalization of a practice like rodeo that violates animal rights.

“No public funds should sustain practices based on subjugating animals,” reiterated Animal Libre, while presenting three concrete demands: Rodeo must stop being normalized, discontinue receiving funding, and be abolished.

The decision has been made and the funds allocated, but the controversy remains: Is it legitimate for all Chileans’ money to fund a practice that, for many, represents a form of institutionalized violence?

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