Halloween masks in Bogota (Photo: Salon)
A Bogota councilman has called for the prohibition of Halloween, which he believes is a cerebration that inducts children into the world of “satanism and witchcraft.”
In an interview with weekly Semana, the Bogota councilman, Marco Fidel Ramirez, a born-again Christian and anti-gay marriage crusader, bemoaned the holiday with its costumes and decorations – including witches, skulls, and skeletons – as an “open cult to satanism” dressed up as “recreation.”
“It is a cult of death, the devil, witchcraft, ghosts, and fortune-tellers, that celebrates inducting children into witchcraft and satanism,” said Ramirez.
To save the children “emotionally and spiritually,” Ramirez said the city of Bogota must ban “the Satanic party.”
Ramirez calls himself the “council member of the family,” and has been a polemic figure in the city, criticizing gay marriage and abortion rights. On his website he says: “I met Jesus, my personal savior, when I was 12 years old in the Cross Church, changing my life radically… In Jesus Christ I find the hope, joy and strength to fight for my dreams.”
