A true “ecocide” was committed in the Florencio Antillon Park, where there has also been an attack on the World Heritage for modifying its original alignment, said Enrique Aviles, a member of the Ecological Council of Guanajuato.
This was stated by the environmentalist as a guest at a conference in which he accompanied members of the Citizen Observatory of Guanajuato (OCG) to require the authorities to take responsibilty for this situation. Besides the changes performed in the historic garden, ironworks have disappeared and the quarry was removed from its original place.
At the press conference, in which various points were addressed, they talked about the report where the Supreme Audit Office announced the disappearance of the stone and guardrails that were originally part of the park’s ornaments.
In this regard, members of the Citizen Observatory released a document that was delivered in 2014 to the then Director of Public Works Eduardo Knapp, which was shared with all staff members of the administration, including then-Mayor Luis Fernando Gutierrez Marquez.
In this report, it was showcased the importance of maintaining the original alignment of the historic garden in order not to undermine its authenticity in accordance with the Charters of Venice and Florence, international documents to which our country is commited to protect the heritage of humanity.
As if this was not enough, the “rehabilitation” of the park has cost approximately 40 million pesos (USD $2.2 million), money that “could have been used to build two new parks including the purchase of land,” said Aviles.
For this reason, the members of the OCG demanded the authorities to bring the investigation to an end and call those responsible to declare, Jorge Ivo Martinez Plaza, the architect Maria Eugenia Cervantes, and other people that should be held responsible for the park’s damage.
During the same year, in addition to the first phase of the rehabilitation of the park, contractor Ivo Jorge Martinez Plaza worked in four different projects for the municipality for a total amount of 18 million pesos (USD $1 million).
Source: ElSolDeLeón
