Mexico City, Mexico — Mexico’s Secretary of Foreign Affairs (SRE) has inaugurated an exhibition of archaeological pieces recovered from abroad. The pieces were recovered during the administration of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
López Obrador assumed the project as one of his commitments to the recovery of objects of cultural and archaeological value that were stolen from Mexico.
Within the framework of the XXXV Meeting of Heads of Embassies and Consulates (REC 2024), the Secretariats of Foreign Affairs (SRE) and Culture of the Government of Mexico, together with the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), held the discussion Restitution of the Mexican Cultural Heritage and inaugurated the exhibition of archaeological pieces recovered in other countries.
Chancellor Alicia Bárcena Ibarra, among other dignitaries, participated in the inauguration.
“These are pieces have returned to their place of origin, which is why it is not called ‘repatriation’, it is called ‘ repatriation’ because those who have achieved this, in reality, are you the ambassadors, the consuls, the consuls.
“I am especially grateful to those who have made a special effort to achieve this enormous effort,” stressed Foreign Minister Bárcena Ibarra.
Bárcena Ibarra stressed the importance of jointly confronting the illicit trafficking of cultural heritage since the phenomenon affects all nations and impoverishes the cultural legacy of states.
The event, whose objective was to publicize the physical return and the symbolic and cultural reintegration of the pieces, was also attended by heads of the embassies and consulates of Mexico abroad, as well as personnel from the Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Culture.
During the discussion and the inauguration of the exhibition A Halo of Splendor, Rematriation and conservation of Mexican cultural assets, the value of Mexican cultural heritage was highlighted, hence the importance of the work of the Government of Mexico to protect and restore heritage.
Through citizen action, the creation of strategic alliances with foreign authorities and the confiscation and cancellation of auctions around the world have led to the recovery of almost 15,000 archaeological and historical assets, during the current administration.
“By raising our voices and coordinating in this close and inter-institutional way, we have 13,435 pieces of heritage repatriated.
“This rematriation is historic. A recovery of our heritage of this magnitude has never been seen. And the important thing about these actions is that these testimonies return to their places of origin, because in them the current heirs of these civilizations can be recognized; It is part of a process of redignification that our country is experiencing,” said the Secretary of Culture, Alejandra Frausto Guerrero.
The General Director of INAH, Diego Prieto Hernández, stated that reversing the painful and harmful practice of the plundering of cultural heritage must be a task assumed by emerging nations and industrial powers.
“Like never before, in the last 50 years, the current Government of Mexico has taken care of reclaiming and recovering assets of its archaeological, historical and artistic heritage that are found outside its borders illegally, for which it has achieved great sympathy in the international community,” he said.
The Secretariats of Foreign Affairs and Culture, together with the INAH, reiterate their commitment to combating the illicit trafficking of cultural property, exalting the national identity with their work, working to protect and preserve the cultural legacy of the country to promote the cultural rights of indigenous communities.
