In the early 2010s, the embassy of Azerbaijan in Mexico donated two statues to the city: the first being the statue of Aliyev, installed on 22 August 2012 in Mexico-Azerbaijan Friendship Park in Chapultepec; the second, a woman mourning the Khojaly massacre, was placed in Tlaxcoaque Plaza, in the historic center of the city. According to Ilgar Mukhtarov, Azerbaijan Ambassador to Mexico, both statues were given to the country to show appreciation for being one of the first to recognize the independence of Azerbaijan.[1]
After its installation, the statue of Aliyev received protests from neighbors and human rights activists, who called it "disrespectful and insensitive" due to his controversial political background; the Azeri community, however, supported the installation. On 26 January 2013, the government of Mexico City removed the statue and returned it to the embassy. Since then, the location and status of the statue are not publicly known.
Although Heydarism became significant for the national politics and Azeri society, Aliyev has been criticized internationally, being described as an "iron fist" leader,[4] "dictator",[5] and "authoritarian".[6]
According to Ilgar Mukhtarov, Azerbaijan Ambassador to Mexico, negotiations for the project began in 2008, but it was not until 2010 that they were materialized. He also said the project was a way to show appreciation to Mexico for being one of the first countries to recognize the independence of Azerbaijan.[1] On 13 July 2011, both nations signed an agreement to start a project.[9] In the same month, it was endorsed by the Citizens' Governing Council of Chapultepec Park (Spanish: Consejo Rector Ciudadano del Bosque de Chapultepec; CRC).[10]
The accorded space was named "Mexico-Azerbaijan Friendship Park" (Spanish: Parque de la Amistad México-Azerbaiyán),[11] located along Paseo de la Reforma, at the edge of Chapultepec,[12] the area measures 1,700 square meters (18,298 sq ft), illuminated with solar street lights.[10] Construction began in April 2012.[10] The statue was donated by the embassy of Azerbaijan in Mexico,[10] measures 3.60 meters (around 11.81 feet),[13] and was transported by ship from Azerbaijan.[10]
On 22 August 2012, Marcelo Ebrard, then-head of government of Mexico City, inaugurated the project.[1] Tracy Wilkinson of Los Angeles Times described the memorial as "Aliyev [sitting] on a white marble pedestal [with] his name embossed in golden letters" and placed "in front of a jagged stone map of Azerbaijan";[14] the latter is almost eight meters high (up to 26 ft).[11] Also, Will Grant of BBC News described a plaque calling Aliyev "a great politician and statesman".[15]
The embassy of Azerbaijan in Mexico donated the statue in Tlaxcoaque Plaza (pictured in 2012)
Additionally, the embassy donated a second statue. The statue was installed in the Tlaxcoaque Plaza,[16] in the historic center of Mexico City.[17] The plaque initially called the Khojaly massacre a "genocide",[18] but this was later changed to "massacre".[19] The embassy also donated around 65 million Mexican pesos[20] (around five to six million US dollars)[12][15][b] which were used to improve Friendship Park and Tlaxcoaque Plaza.[15] According to Mukhtarov, the embassy never gave money directly to the city but paid private construction companies for the improvement of the areas.[15]
By November 2011, after researching Aliyev further,[12] the CRC withdrew their endorsement and requested that the government of the city reconsider the installation of the statue.[23] According to Denise Dresser, Mexican writer and former member of the CRC, "[after requesting them to reconsider it,] they thought we were making a mountain out of a molehill [...] They were clueless and they were ignorant, and we alerted them to the fact that they were clueless and ignorant."[12]
Controversy started by early September 2012.[18] On 27 September, Chapultepec neighbors protested the installation, calling the statue "disrespectful and insensitive".[24] The National Human Rights Commission recommended its removal.[25]Elnur Majidli, organizer of the 2011 Azerbaijani protests, criticized the installation,[9] saying that corruption was involved "necessarily" in the project.[24]Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, working as Mexico City's international affairs coordinator, said that "The statue of Mr. Aliyev does not honor Mexico City, and Mexico City does not have any reason to honor him".[21]
Mukhtarov said the information concerning Aliyev was "erroneous and manipulated by the Armenian opposition",[24] as Aliyev "abolished capital punishment and promoted policies that improved Azerbaijan's economy".[27] On 27 November 2012, 30 Azeri protestors based in Mexico requested the statue to be kept.[28]
Former location of the statue in 2018, showing the stone map of Azerbaijan still standing in the park.
On 22 October, to determine the future of the statue, a special commission was created.[24] In January 2013, the group recommended its removal.[21] Five months after its installation,[29] the sculpture was removed by Mexico City authorities during the early morning of 26 January.[21] The city had previously signed an agreement to keep the statue in place for 99 years.[30][31] It was transported to a warehouse of the Urban Development and Housing Secretariat, located at Camarones Avenue and Eloudy Street,[24]colonia (Mexican Spanish for "neighborhood") of Del Recreo in the Azcapotzalco borough.[21] Joshua Kucera described the place as "strewn with debris and stacks of bricks", calling it an "ignominious fate" for Aliyev.[18]
Manuel Luna, private secretary of Mukhtarov, said the embassy of Azerbaijan was never notified about the removal.[24] The embassy asked the city government to give them back the statue.[32] Salvador Campos, former Mexican ambassador to Azerbaijan and Turkey, considered the problem was that the government of Mexico City never consulted the Secretary of Foreign Affairs.[9] As a consequence, Azerbaijan withdrew 3.8 billion US dollars of investment that would be used for building oil refineries and for improving public spaces in Mexico.[27]
As of November 2013, the statue was placed in a private home in the coloniaofLomas de Chapultepec.[27] In January 2015, the government of Mexico City donated to the embassy of Azerbaijan a property along Paseo de la Reforma in Lomas de Chapultepec.[33][34] On account of the controversy, the Committee for Monuments and Artistic Works in Public Spaces (Comité de Monumentos y Obras Artísticas en Espacios Públicos, COMAEP) was created to avoid similar incidents in the city.[35]
^ abcGrant, Will; Hernández Pasten, Alan (3 October 2012). "La estatua azerí que causa controversia en México" [The Azeri statue that causes controversy in Mexico]. BBC News (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 7 October 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
^"Plaza Tlaxcoaque" [Tlaxcoaque Plaza] (in Spanish). Comisión de Filmaciones de la Ciudad de México. Archived from the original on 24 September 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
^"Consejo Rector del Bosque de Chapultepec reta a GDF" [Citizens' Governing Council of Chapultepec Park challenges the Government of Mexico City] (in Spanish). Aristegui Noticias. 23 October 2012. Archived from the original on 7 November 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
^"GDF entrega predio en Reforma a Azerbaiyán" [Government of Mexico City gives property in Reforma to Azerbaijan]. Milenio (in Spanish). Mexico City. 7 January 2015. Archived from the original on 19 October 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
^"GDF busca evitar otro caso Aliyev" [Government of Mexico City seeks to avoid another Aliyev case]. La Razón (in Spanish). 15 March 2013. Archived from the original on 17 December 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2021.