Miami (EFE) a judicial dispute between the parties.
Local media report the decision of the members of the Central Florida Tourism Supervisory District, with responsibilities over the area in which the parks are located, which comes after last Wednesday the entertainment giant filed a federal lawsuit in which they considered an “orchestrated campaign” against their interests.
The president of the Central Florida Tourism Supervisory District, Martín García, pointed out that, since the business group sued the entity, it had “no choice but to respond.”
García clarified that the company is being sued, at the state level, in an Orlando court and that measures will also be taken for its defense in federal court in Tallahassee (capital of Florida), where Walt Disney World filed its lawsuit last week.
Disney alleges that there is a “punishment” campaign
Walt Disney World filed a lawsuit last Wednesday in which it considers itself the victim of a “punishment” campaign against its economic interests orchestrated, allegedly, by DeSantis and other Florida authorities.
According to the media, members of the Central Florida Tourism Supervisory District voted unanimously to sue Walt Disney World in a state court in Orlando, where the entertainment parks are located.
The entity also decided to defend itself in federal court in Tallahassee, where the entertainment company filed its lawsuit.
Local media point out that the board includes one of the authors of the controversial Florida Parental Rights Law -which prohibits addressing the issue of gender identity and sexual orientation-, Bridget Ziegler, and the former senior pastor of the Baptist Church Evangelista, Ron Peri, along with attorneys Martín García, Brian Aungst and Mike Sasso.
Walt Disney World’s lawsuit against the governor and the five board members asks the judge to quash the takeover of the theme park district by the DeSantis-appointed Central Florida Tourism Supervisory District, which for decades controlled the entertainment company.
The move by the entertainment company, which employs more than 70,000 people and generates $1.2 billion in taxes a year, came after the DeSantis-appointed oversight board voted to void a deal that gave the company decision-making authority. construction on their Florida properties.
The origin of the conflict
The confrontation originates from the entertainment company’s criticism, in 2022, of a law promoted by DeSantis known as “Don’t Say Gay”, which prohibits talking about gender identity and sexual orientation in schools.
Following criticism, the Republican, who has just toured four countries and is expected to soon announce that he aspires to be a Republican candidate in the 2024 presidential elections, made public that the entertainment giant should no longer have autonomy in the district where its parks are.
Florida’s Republican-dominated Congress passed a law last February, endorsed by DeSantis, that ended more than half a century of self-governance for Walt Disney World.
The business group, before losing autonomy, signed agreements in perpetuity with state supervisors that almost totally limited the new officials appointed by the governor to control the Disney district, which is known as Reedy Creek.
DeSantis, who was re-elected in 2022 with a large majority, is entrenching his ultra-conservative agenda with a battery of laws that are easily passed because both houses of Florida’s Congress are dominated by Republicans.