Bronze sculptures commemorating the historic meeting between Fidel Castro and Che Guevara were recently removed from a public square in Mexico City’s Cuauhtémoc borough. The statues, depicting the iconic revolutionary leaders in a relaxed pose on a bench, were hauled away last week under orders from Alessandra Rojo de la Vega, the borough’s conservative mayor, sparking a heated clash with the left-wing federal government.
The artwork, created by renowned Mexican-Italian sculptor Óscar Ponzanelli and unveiled in 2017, had long been a flashpoint in a simmering political dispute. Commissioned by a previous left-wing administration and funded with approximately £25,000 of public money, the installation celebrated the first meeting between Castro and Guevara in 1955 in a modest apartment nearby — a meeting that set in motion the Cuban revolution and the eventual overthrow of dictator Fulgencio Batista.
For supporters, the statues symbolized an inspiring struggle against tyranny and imperialism. Detractors, however, condemned the monument as a glorification of authoritarianism, pointing to the Cuban leaders’ records of severe human rights abuses, including executions without trial. Since their installation, the sculptures had been repeatedly vandalized with paint, while admirers laid flowers at their feet, reflecting the polarized sentiments they evoke.
Mayor Rojo de la Vega, a staunch anti-communist elected last year, justified the removal on bureaucratic grounds, citing the absence of proper planning permits. Yet her broader disdain for the revolutionary icons quickly became apparent. In a radio interview, she stated bluntly, “A murderer is no less a murderer just because he belongs to the left,” underscoring her rejection of the leaders’ legacy.
Following the removal, the statues were placed in warehouse storage, with the mayor proposing an auction to raise funds for local park renovations. In a pointed social media post, she challenged Castro and Guevara’s admirers, dubbing them “closet communists” and sarcastically inviting them to purchase the sculptures with their own money rather than relying on public funds.
The move drew swift condemnation from Mexico’s left-wing President Claudia Sheinbaum, whose administration maintains strong ties with Cuba and views the figures as symbols of revolutionary justice. At her daily press briefing, Sheinbaum called the removal “tremendously intolerant” and criticized the mayor for what she described as “cancel culture.” She also highlighted an apparent contradiction in Rojo de la Vega’s stance, referencing photographs of the mayor vacationing in Havana a decade ago — a trip Rojo de la Vega dismissed as a politically naive youth.
The meeting between Castro and Guevara was a pivotal moment in Latin American history. Introduced by Castro’s brother Raúl, the two revolutionaries spent a night discussing their shared vision of overthrowing Batista’s regime. Castro, freshly released from prison after a failed attack, was plotting his next move from exile in Mexico, while Guevara, a young Argentine doctor whose motorcycle journey across Latin America had radicalized him, agreed to join the cause as both physician and fighter.
Their alliance culminated in the 1956 departure from Mexico aboard the yacht Granma, carrying 82 men to launch a guerrilla campaign in Cuba. Though the initial landing was disastrous, with many rebels killed, the partnership of Castro’s leadership and Guevara’s ideological fervor proved crucial to the revolution’s eventual success in 1959, which shocked the world and established a communist state just 90 miles from the United States.
Historians note that the two men, despite their revolutionary camaraderie, would later diverge sharply. Guevara grew disillusioned with Soviet-style socialism, which he viewed as betraying revolutionary ideals, while Castro maintained pragmatic ties with Moscow. In 1966, Guevara left Cuba to foment revolution in Bolivia, where he was captured and executed the following year. His last words reportedly accused Castro of betrayal, a testament to their fractured relationship.
Castro himself survived until 2016, outliving numerous U.S. presidents. While revered by many for his defiance of American hegemony, his regime left Cuba politically repressive and economically crippled. Ironically, one of Castro’s final decrees forbade the erection of his statues in Cuba, perhaps acknowledging the complex legacy of his rule.
The removal of the statues in Mexico City thus encapsulates a wider debate over memory, history, and the legacy of revolutionary figures. As public opinion remains deeply divided, the fate of the sculptures hangs in the balance — their current warehouse status symbolic of the ongoing struggle over how societies remember their past.
