The decision comes amid strong political tensions with local authorities, who describe Disney as too progressive, since its principals publicly denounced in 2022 a bill that would limit the right to teach subjects related to sexual orientation and gender identity in elementary schools in Florida.
Entertainment giant Disney announced Thursday, in the midst of its political battle with the governor of Florida, that it is abandoning the construction of a new site worth nearly $ 900 million near its famous complex in the state, in a project that has sparked great tension with local authorities.
The giant American group, which recently conducted operations erasing large expenditures, justified its decision by changing the business environment since the announcement of its project in 2021, especially with the naming of a new general manager and “the development of the economic framework,” according to a memorandum addressed to employees seen by Agence France-Presse.
For these reasons, Disney decided “not to continue building the complex,” Josh D’Amaro, head of the group’s theme parks, wrote.
The decision comes amid strong political tensions with local authorities, who describe Disney as too progressive, since its principals publicly denounced in 2022 a bill that would limit the right to teach subjects related to sexual orientation and gender identity in elementary schools in Florida.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a rising star of the American right who is fighting a battle against what he describes as “awakening” culture, in February ended the special status Disney had enjoyed in the state since the 1960s.
“targeted revenge”
The governor has also publicly denounced the construction of a prison near the “Disney World” complex or the imposition of new taxes on hotels at the site, which employs 75,000 people and attracts 50 million visitors annually.
Disney responded by filing a complaint, in which it considered that what was happening was “targeted retaliation” against it to punish it for exercising its “freedom of expression.”
Right-wing populist Ron DeSantis is widely seen as the most serious challenger to Donald Trump in the Republican primaries before the next presidential election.
According to US media, the governor of Florida may soon announce his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election.
And in an indication of the political dimension in the dispute with Disney, Donald Trump Thursday re-criticized DeSantis, accusing him in a statement that he “single-handedly” lost the group’s investment, because the governor was “too weak to fight for his term.”
The former US president added that “DeSantis’ losing streak with Disney didn’t really help his fake and weak campaign.”
“regrettable”
Criticism of the rhetoric has begun to emerge from the right, with some Republicans saying it reflects an anti-corporate fight against party tradition.
On the Democratic side, Jerry Demings, the official in Orange County to which Lake Nona belongs, where the new complex was to be built, described Disney’s decision as “unfortunate.”
However, Demings believed that what happened was “an expected result when the work environment between the state of Florida and the business community is based on exclusion and non-cooperation.”
Since the sixties of the twentieth century, Disney has been benefiting from a special situation that provides it with several advantages, including administrative facilities, self-management of the site, and soft loans.
And the group announced in July 2021 its intention to ask more than two thousand employees to move to work in Florida.
The project was supported by the former general manager of the group, Bob Chapek, who was replaced in November 2022 by Bob Iger, after the poor performance of the “Disney Plus” streaming platform negatively affected the group’s results.
The cost of the new complex, according to press information, was estimated in 2021 at $864 million. The decision to abandon this project “wasn’t easy, but I think it was the right decision,” Josh D’Amaro said in the memo sent Thursday.
