For Alberto Castellanos, the president of the United Clubs of Jalisco organization, based in the Mexican state where a fight occurred on Saturday between Liga MX clubs Atlas and Guadalajara, "a fundamental factor in the violence was that Estadio Jalisco is in some ways obsolete, as it has not been updated in many aspects," according to Rigoberto Juárez of LA AFICION. Castellanos: "Estadio Jalisco has to be improved. We know that it is an old stadium that is more than 50 years old, it has obsolete entry systems and we have the same gates from 40 years ago. We have to modernize the entry system, and we have been working on the closed circuit TV for some time -- we have a good system but we can improve it. Some of the cameras should be updated. The economic situation of the United Clubs is not unknown to anyone, it has been a problem for years. We are addressing this as well as we can, above all with the new administration of Atlas" (LA AFICION, 3/25). In Mexico City, Eduardo Espinosa wrote that "Saturday's violence had to occur for a reform to the Violence at Sporting Events material to be reactivated." Mexico's Institutional Revolutionary Party representative Gerardo Liceaga, the reform's principal promoter, believes that for the next Liga MX season, "it will be possible for those that commit acts of violence in stadiums to be punished with up to four-and-a-half years in jail." Liceaga: "The vote is Thursday, if the Senate has no objection, the reform will be published and take effect within six months. We hope that this will be functioning for the next Liga MX season" (LA AFICION, 3/25).
MEXICO CITY WEIGHING NEW MEASURES: In Mexico City, Ricardo Magallán reported "the violence that occurred Saturday set off alarms in other Mexican states that have already begun to seek solutions to prevent these types of incidents." One example "is in Mexico City." At a legislative meeting scheduled for next Thursday, Mexico City Public Security Commission President Santiago Taboada will present an initiative to "propose harsher penalties for those fans that attack other fans or authority figures." Taboada said that "he is proposing that any fan who commits a violent act at a stadium in Mexico City face a minimum of six years in prison." Taboada: "I am proposing to increase all penalties. Almost all the penalties with respect to violence at public sporting events are just administrative, and my proposal is to have criminal sanctions" (LA AFICION, 3/25).
