Government Seeks to Recover Historic and Artistic Properties
In addition to the Cine Ópera, the Institute of Administration and Appraisal of National Assets (Indaabin) has also included the abandoned section known as “El Castillo” of the Historical Water Archive and Central Water Library in the list of federal properties available for public agencies to request for public-interest purposes.
This section of the building, located at the corner of Balderas and Ayuntamiento, in the Historic Center, has a notice placed by Indaabin stating that the property is federally owned and has been declared a Monument of Historical and Artistic Value.
The notice warns that, under the General Law of National Assets (LGBN), any illegal occupation of the property will be punished with two to 12 years in prison and a fine of up to one thousand minimum wages.
The historic building, located at the corner of Balderas and Ayuntamiento, has been covered in graffiti for years.
Indaabin reports that this section of the property has an area of 514 square meters and 2,534 square meters of construction.
The old property that has been made available shows visible signs of neglect. The large wooden door is covered in graffiti, and dozens of stickers featuring political slogans and street art have been placed on it.
Next to this corner, people experiencing homelessness have found the abandoned property to be a place to stay and relieve themselves.
In January 2023, El Universal documented that the building houses records concerning water management from the colonial period, as well as documents produced during the Porfirio Díaz era regarding hydraulic infrastructure, along with geological and hydrological reports dating from the late 20th century. It also contains a photographic collection documenting the history of water throughout different periods.
This important historical and cultural heritage collection of the country—which was included by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in the Memory of the World Register in Mexico in March 2018—is managed by the National Water Commission (Conagua).
The collection is housed in a building of artistic and historical value dating back to the government of Porfirio Díaz, constructed during the modernization of the Historic Center several years before the centennial of Mexico’s Independence.
The extensive catalog housed in the building at Balderas 94, which serves as the headquarters of the Historical Water Archive and Central Water Library, consists of more than 240,000 classified records, organized into seven documentary collections covering the period from 1558 to 1990.
Most of these records were rescued and donated by institutions that preceded Conagua, including the Secretariat of Development (1891–1917) and the National Irrigation Commission (1926–1946), among others.
Although the Historical Water Archive was founded in 1994 and moved to its current facilities in 2013, the lack of general maintenance and the authorities’ lack of interest have accelerated the deterioration of the property, which is clearly visible.
Source: eluniversal
