Veracruz, Mexico - A ban imposed last fall on cockfights in Veracruz didn't last very long: the state Congress last week reversed the earlier law, legalizing cockfighting, bullfights and the running of bulls.

State deputies approved an animal protection law in November, creating a special attorney's office to oversee crimes against animals and an animal monitoring brigade. The law also proposed actions designed to promote responsible pet ownership.

But opponents to the bill didn't take it lying down.

In December, cockfight organizers protested, demanding the law be modified to allow the practice to continue.

The law faced a litmus test two months after when citizens of the UNESCO heritage town of Tlacotalpan confronted state police and environmental officials to protest the ban on the centuries old bull run held on Candlemas, an annual 10-day festival that begins on January 31.

On July 25, bull-running and cockfighting supporters got what they wanted thanks to last year's election, which on November 5 replaced all 50 deputies in the state Congress. The vote went 25 in favor and 15 against.