MEXICO CITY — Authorities in Mexico City's Cuauhtémoc borough briefly detained six members of the Frente de la Juventud Comunista de México (FJCMexico) on Saturday following physical confrontations during a demonstration demanding the reinstallation of a prominent revolutionary monument.
The protest occurred as demonstrators gathered to march in commemoration of the 73rd anniversary of the Cuban Revolution. Activists were demanding that local authorities return the Monumento Encuentro—a bronze sculpture depicting Fidel Castro and Ernesto "Che" Guevara seated together on a park bench—to its original location in Jardín Tabacalera.
Confrontation at Borough Hall
According to local reports and eyewitness video from the scene, riot police intervened after protesters allegedly sprayed graffiti on the facade of the Cuauhtémoc borough hall building, which is designated as a cultural heritage site. The police action sparked pushing and physical clashes as security forces moved to cordoning off the area.
Mexico City's Secretariat of Citizen Security (SSC) confirmed that six demonstrators were taken into custody. All detainees were released shortly afterward with administrative warnings, and no formal criminal charges were filed.
Borough officials defended the police deployment as a necessary response to prevent vandalism and protect public heritage property. In contrast, FJCMexico organizers placed responsibility for the violent escalation on the municipal administration and pledged to continue public mobilizations until the monument is restored.
"Governing isn't about choosing which victims to show solidarity to."
— Alessandra Rojo de la Vega, Mayor of Cuauhtémoc Borough, on the statue's removal
Background and Political Friction
Designed by sculptor Óscar Ponzanelli and installed in December 2017, the Monumento Encuentro commemorates the historic June 1955 meeting between Castro and Guevara in Colonia Tabacalera. It was in this neighborhood that the two leaders planned key logistics for the 26th of July Movement to overthrow Fulgencio Batista.
The monument was removed in July 2025 by opposition Mayor Alessandra Rojo de la Vega, who cited administrative irregularities, including the lack of proper authorization permits from the city's Committee on Monuments and Artistic Works in Public Spaces (COMAEP).
| Key Feature | Monument Summary |
| Official Name | Monumento Encuentro (Encounter Monument) |
| Material & Weight | Bronze; ~250 kg (550 lbs) |
| Historical Focus | Commemorates the 1955 meeting of Castro and Guevara in Mexico City |
| Installed | December 2017 |
| Removed | July 2025 by Cuauhtémoc borough leadership |
| Current Location | Municipal storage |
The removal sparked immediate debate across Mexico City. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum publicly criticized the borough's action as potentially illegal without committee consensus and suggested relocating the statues to another public site if the local government refused to reinstall them.
Broader Context
Saturday's demonstration directly coincided with the July 26 anniversary of the 1953 attack on the Moncada Barracks in Santiago de Cuba—an event widely marked by leftist organizations as the foundational spark of the Cuban Revolution.
The incident reflects broader political tensions in Mexico City between opposition-led municipal administrative districts and federal or left-aligned political groups over public art, historical symbolism, and political memory. The bronze figures currently remain in municipal storage.
