Focus on this artwork and explore the History, installation and destruction.
Roberto Téllez Monroy served as the mayor of Atlacomulco, State of Mexico, from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2021. He was elected to govern as a represent of the National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) political party, which was created by Andrés Manuel López Obrador (commonly abbreviated as AMLO), the president of Mexico since 2018. On 29 December 2021, Téllez Monroy installed a statue to honor López Obrador. He said that he paid $50,000 Mexican pesos (US$2,400) for the statue with his own money and not with public money. The cost of the sculpture was billed to the municipal treasury so that it would remain as municipal patrimony. He installed it because he wanted to "break stigmas and paradigms and for people to recognize what has been done. It is a recognition to the President of the Republic". Téllez Monroy became the first politician not associated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) to govern the municipality. Atlacomulco is associated with the alleged political group of the same name, from which several governors have emerged, all of whom were born or raised in the municipality. Behind the sculpture, a bust of Emiliano Zapata was also placed to complement the statue of López Obrador. In addition, a phrase said by Zapata was placed: "Whoever wants to be an eagle should fly, whoever wants to be a worm should crawl, but should not scream when they get stepped on".During the early hours of 1 January (New Year's Day) and during the change of Téllez Moreno's administration to that of his successor, Marisol Arias Flores, representative of the opposition coalition Va por México (in which the PRI is an ally), the statue was toppled and destroyed by unidentified people. The head and legs were reported as missing.According to a statement by Téllez Monroy, neighbors reported that around the time of the collapse the street lights at the site were turned off. He also reported that the security camera recording the statue was not working. He filed a complaint with the state prosecutor's office for vandalism. As of April 2022, the remains of the statue were still being guarded by local security because they had not been claimed. In addition, the complaint filed was stalled.
alleged political group of the same name Andrés Manuel López Obrador State of Mexico National Regeneration Movement Institutional Revolutionary Party Atlacomulco president of Mexico Mexican peso US$ Emiliano Zapata Va por México