“A monument can symbolize more than 500 years of sustaining violent practices, and the Monument to the Montejo Family is a symbol of hate and racism,” stated historian and activist Rosa Cruz Pech during the presentation of a report on the monument located in El Remate, in the Historic Center of Mérida.
Cruz Pech acknowledged that this monument has sparked controversy in recent years, particularly during protests when it became a symbol embodying the repression reported in Yucatán.
During a press conference, she explained that monuments are intended to perpetuate historical memory of significant events, and that memory serves to generate identity. However, history operates in a dichotomy of ‘good’ and ‘bad.’
“For example, the Montejo family reflects the notion that the Spaniards in the conquest came to ‘save’ a community that was supposedly in a state of barbarism,” she mentioned.
The report, which was prepared in collaboration between the organizations Kanan Human Rights, A.C., and Education against Racism, A.C., shares that the Monument to the Montejo Family represents a military figure that governed the state during the Spanish colonial era, which incites indignation among the Maya population.
The monument in question is located on Paseo de Montejo Avenue and was inaugurated in 2010 during the administration of the then-mayor from the National Action Party (PAN), César Bojórquez Zapata, on the last day of his term.
The report also highlights other factors contributing to ethnic and racial division in the ‘White City,’ not only through the street and avenue names but also in the offensive appropriation of certain restaurants. For instance, the well-known “La Chaya Maya” in Mérida, where women dressed in hipil are displayed by a window, making handmade tortillas, as if this activity were a spectacle for passersby and tourists. There’s also the “La Casta Divina,” referring to the wealthy families that enslaved the Maya people. This concept is currently used by a restaurant for commercial purposes.
It’s worth noting that in the “Survey on Racism and the Monument to the Montejo Family” conducted by Kanan Human Rights in 2022, 88 out of 100 people stated that Francisco de Montejo was a warlike and violent figure in Yucatán’s history. Furthermore, 82% of the surveyed population considered the monument “racist,” while 7% saw it as a cultural symbol, and only 1% believed it was a monument in honor of those who “founded” Yucatán.
Jose Antonio Aguilar, founder, and director of Racismo MX, mentioned that this report is presented to explore alternatives for what can be done with the monument. He also reminded that in the survey conducted by Kanan, participants requested a monument that dignifies indigenous peoples in its place, while others called for its removal, and some requested the placement of a plaque explaining that it represents hate and racism.
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