If you are surprised to drive and drink in Mexico City, there is a good chance that you can spend a night in the Center for administrative sanctions and social integration This welcomes people who exceed the legal limit of alcohol. Never heard of it? There is a good chance that you have, but by another name: El Torito.
The reasons why a person can be taken to El Torito includes the failure of a blood test, alcohol consumption in prohibited areas or obstructing public roads. While all the States of Mexico have an area dedicated to this type of infractor, only the people of Mexico City and some cities of the country, of which Guadalajara, call it El Torito. You are probably wondering why.
Why is it called El Torito?
All the other cities that call their drunk tanks and do so because of that of Mexico City, whose nickname has a historical meaning linked to the site’s past. Located in the San Diego Ocoyac district of Miguel Hidalgo, it was inaugurated on October 28, 1958 by President Adolfo Ruiz Cortines.
The center was created on the site of an old slaughterhouse, hence the name “El Torito”, which literally means “the little bull”.
How do people find themselves in El Torito?
At “Terennes” (checkpoints), strategically located through the city, the police select drivers randomly to pass a blood test. Those whose alcohol concentration exceeds 0.8 grams per liter or whose breathtaking rate exceeds 0.4 milligrams per liter is taken to El Torito.
Drivers under the influence of drugs, intoxicating substances or psychotropic drugs are also taken to the center, where they spend between 20 and 36 hours, while their vehicle is taken to a “corralón” or a lot of retaining of the city.
Alcohol is part of the alcohol -free drive program, which started in 2003 in order to prevent road accidents related to alcohol. According to the authorities, this program reduced deaths by 70%.
The administration of El Torito is proud of the human treatment of the prisoner, and the scope of the center is not strictly punitive. During their stay in El Torito, the drivers owned receive medical and psychological attention, as well as integration activities to prevent recurrence. The center can contain up to 72 men and 52 women, the latter, which is assigned to a female wing led by female staff. El Torito sees its greatest number of prisoners during the holidays – but the menu is also exceptionally good these days.
What prisoners eat in El Torito?
Local media generally cover the number of detainees during the holidays and the menu for these days.
The menu on Christmas Eve 2024 included rice, Romeritos with potatoes and shrimps, fried beans and fresh juice. Meanwhile, the food served the New Year’s Eve included pasta soup with cream, pozole with lettuce, radish and tostadas and fresh juice.
With reports from The country,, Azteca TV And The Economist
