Mauricio Trejo Pureco, mayor of San Miguel de Allende, stated that the closure of the Cañada de la Virgen archaeological site is a worrying action and described the expropriation of the area, spearheaded by a former senator from the Morena party, as an abuse. He considers her a clear threat to the municipality.
“The expropriation of Cañada de la Virgen seems to me to be an abuse. I think it’s a good thing to protect archaeological sites, without a doubt, but to expropriate 700 hectares with the snap of a finger is an abuse, and it only makes the owners feel wronged,” he said.
The mayor emphasized that the expropriation action eliminated the possibility of negotiating a donation, leading to the start of a legal battle that will keep the site closed for quite some time.
“Because of these lawsuits that have already begun, archaeological tourism in San Miguel de Allende is currently paralyzed and may possibly end, and that’s bad (…) I regret that Cañada de la Virgen is going through this, that it’s closed because of these lawsuits that I don’t think will be resolved soon, when it could have been a positive and trouble-free negotiation,” he stated.
“A Threat to San Miguel”
Mauricio Trejo emphasized that what happened in Cañada de la Virgen was due to the fact that there are people who don’t understand economics and have a very harmful view of the city’s progress, which he described as a threat, recalling that former Senator Jesusa Rodríguez, who participated in the expropriation of the area, has referred to San Miguel de Allende in a derogatory way.
“During the 2024 campaign, we saw a former senator refer to San Miguel de Allende as ‘Saint Mickey Mouse,’ which is extremely serious. We also saw that same former senator, along with a candidate, say that it was important to remove tourism from the city center,” the mayor said.
“The threats a municipality can face when there are people who don’t understand economics and who have a very harmful vision are very clear. (…) There is a constant threat that governments could come to power in San Miguel de Allende that actually think we have to go against the foreign community and that we must remove tourism from the city center, because there are already actions that should concern us,” he said.
Correo sought comment from former Senator Jesusa Rodríguez, who now serves as the federal government’s liaison with indigenous communities, but she did not respond.
The State Secretariat of Culture confirmed that the staff assigned to the Cañada de la Virgen Visitor Center are currently carrying out administrative and operational activities within the center itself and emphasized that the legal and territorial definitions related to the Cañada de la Virgen Archaeological Zone correspond to the federal authority, so the determination on reopening dates and access conditions depends on the resolution issued by said authority.
Source: periodicocorreo
