Major renovations at Mérida’s main square kicked off with a flurry of heavy machinery on Calle 63.
The project’s focus is on improving lighting, planting new trees, and installing an even larger flag pole.
All events hosted at the Plaza Grande, like Mérida en Domingo, will temporarily be moved to other venues, including Santa Lucia and el Parque de San Juan.
The streets surrounding the main square are also to be repaved and have features added to ensure a consistent look with other infrastructure projects, such as Mérida’s gastronomic corridor on Calle 47.
Pedestrians interviewed around the main square seemed to believe that remodeling was unnecessary.
“The plaza is beautiful as it is. There is no need to remodel it. There are so many other things that could be improved. I don’t see the point,” said Mérida resident Eduardo Pat.
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Merchants also expressed concerns about how the construction will hurt businesses.
“We were not even informed about this until the workers began to arrive. This is going to be a disaster for us. We were not even given time to prepare,” said a storefront owner in Pasaje Picheta.
Another man perceived the project as a way to use up the remaining budget before the summer elections.
“They are trying to squeeze every last peso out of the coffers and give contracts to their friends. The worst part is that other projects like Calle 60 and the Remate are not even done yet, and now they start with this. Ridiculous,” said resident Manuel Barrera.
