The never-ending conflict between Disney and Florida adds a new chapter amid a lawsuit

Walt Disneythe largest entertainment company in the FloridaThis week accused the governor of that state and presidential candidate, Ron DeSantis, of perpetrating a “constitutional riot”, in reference to the legal process that both sides have maintained since 2022.

TO LOOK: They capture a bear that roamed the Disney theme park in Florida and caused attractions to close

“If the line is not drawn here, there will be no“he warned Disney inside the document he sent to the Florida federal court handling the case.

“The retaliation against Disney for crossing the governor’s ‘line’ was swift and severe. With the explicitly stated aim of punishing Disney for its comments, the State immediately stripped Disney of its voting rights on the government body that oversees Disney’s use of its own private property rights.”, adds the document.

In this way the battle they maintain Disney It is DeSantis Since the beginning of 2022 there has been no respite.

To understand the confrontation between DeSantis It is Disney We need to go back to January 28, 2022. That day, Republican State Congressman Joe Harding introduced House Bill 1834 to the local parliament.

The text indicated that “A school district may not encourage classroom discussions about sexual orientation or gender identity in the elementary grades or in a manner that is not age or developmentally appropriate for students.”.

This led to the project being quickly renamed “Don’t say gay” by the long list of opponents who raised their voices across the country from the start.

Despite resistance from several organizations, activists and criticism from the White House itself, the bill was firmly supported by Governor DeSantis and Republican state legislators, leading to its approval in both the House of Representatives and the local Senate on the 2nd and March 8th. , respectively.

On March 9, the CEO of DisneyBob Chapek contacted the governor to express that the company was opposed to this legislation and invited him to hold a meeting with the company’s LGBT spokespeople.

DeSantis did not attend the meeting despite having accepted according to the CEO Disney. In light of this, Chapek immediately announced that Disney would immediately suspend all types of donations to politicians in Florida and a few weeks later described the project as “an attack on LGBTQ+ children and their families. Disney is against this law and we will work to repeal it”.

DeSantis has been a strong supporter of the controversial “Don’t Say Gay” law. (PEDRO UGARTE/)

Chapek’s statements did not please DeSantis. On March 28, 2022, he signed the bill approved by lawmakers, turning it into law, and undertook an aggressive offensive against Disneywhich he described as ‘wakes’, translated into Spanish as ‘progre’ and used by conservatives in a derogatory way.

On April 18, he also introduced a bill to eliminate the special status he enjoyed Disney since 1967.”Disney has a lot of power and privileges in Florida. It’s time for us to end this”, assured in this regard DeSantis.

In just three days, both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate Floridaapproved a series of projects, including the exclusive status of Reedy Creek, as the neighborhood where the famous theme parks of Disney.

Reedy Creek It covers about 10,117 hectares (101.17 square kilometers) in Orange and Osceola counties; that is, an area equivalent to twice the district of Santiago de Surco or more than 10 times the total area of ​​Miraflores.

Special Purpose District Status Granted Walt Disney World government control over land and adjacent areas, including maintenance of roads and services.

The special condition of Reedy Creek was essential for Disney to decide to set up its famous amusement parks in that region of Florida. (BRYAN R.SMITH/)

On April 22, DeSantis signed the dissolution of Reedy Creek, a measure that would come into force from June 2023.

In response, Disney sued the state of Florida. “This law is an attack on the company and our employees. We sue to protect our rights and ensure we can continue to operate in Florida”, explained Chapek at the time.

On November 20, 2022, in a move interpreted by several analysts as a nod to the administration DeSantis, Disney announced that Bob Iger would replace Chapek as the company’s CEO.

In February 2023, however, the small conciliation options between both sides fell apart after a state Parliament committee pushed for more changes to Reedy Creek’s new statute. Lawmakers proposed changing the name to the Central Florida Tourism Supervisory District.

On April 26, 2023, Disney filed a new lawsuit against DeSantis, this time accusing the governor of launching a “selective retaliation campaign” due to their political differences.

The state government responded to this with a counter-action in which it sought to annul the action taken with the previous administration and which would have taken away the power of the new board.

Two weeks later, Disney would announce the suspension of plans to open a campus near Lake Nona, in Orlando, which involved an investment of one billion dollars. The company also announced that it would donate $5 million to LGBTQ+ organizations in Florida.

In July of this year, as planned, the “Don’t Say Gay” law came into force. An example of the effects of this regulation was the decision adopted by the Central Florida Tourism Supervisory District in August, when it announced that diversity, equity and inclusion programs were abolished in the district.

At the same time, initiatives to promote the hiring of members of racial or gender minorities were canceled, which Disney maintained in its attempt to achieve greater parity.

These measures are part of the so-called “Stop Woke” law, also promoted by DeSantis and which prevents companies, universities and public schools in Florida from allocating funds to diversity programs.

“Our district will no longer engage in any attempt to divide us by race or promote the notion that we are not created equal“, said the new administrator of the former Reedy Creek, Glenton Gilzean.

In an interview in August of this year, DeSantis suggested to Disney’s current CEO, Bob Iger, that he abandon the process and accept the end of what he considered “special privileges”.

Currently, the trial between Disney and DeSantis is under appeal at the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, after in October this year the Florida Supreme Court rejected the company’s request to block the law.

The statements that were released this week, in which Disney warns of a constitutional mutiny by DeSantis, occur within the scope of the aforementioned process.

Additionally, earlier this year, a group of Disney employees sued the state government, claiming that the “Don’t Say Gay” law violated their rights. That lawsuit is pending in a Florida court.

Source: Elcomercio