An advisory commission in Mexico City has recommended the removal of a statue of Azerbaijan’s late President Heydar Aliyev that has been erected along a main boulevard of the Mexican capital.
Gabriel Guerra, a member of the panel, said on November 23 that the commission has called for the bronze statue to be removed from the high-profile Chapultepec Park, along Reforma Avenue, and transferred to another less “emblematic” location.
Azerbaijan’s government paid around $5 million for the renovation of the section of the park where the statue was erected and other public works. That corner of the park was named the “Mexico-Azerbaijan Friendship Park.”
Baku has warned of damage to Azerbaijan’s relations with Mexico if the statue is removed, including the potential closure of its embassy and the suspension of Azerbaijani investments in Mexico.
Azerbaijan says Mexico City’s government signed an agreement stipulating the monument should be allowed to remain on the spot for 99 years.
Read also
Human rights protesters have said they are offended by the monument to Aliyev, who is regarded by many as having led an authoritarian, rights-abusing regime during his years as ruler of the energy-rich Caspian Sea country.
The Financial
