Mérida Monument Cleanup Drags On, No End in Sight 

Six months after protesters spray-painted one of Mérida’s most recognizable landmarks, cleanup crews are still working to remove the paint — and there’s still no date for when the job will be done.

Mérida’s city government has been treating the graffiti-covered Monumento a la Patria with laser technology, a method authorized by Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History, or INAH, because it doesn’t wear down or alter the original stone. Crews have ruled out abrasive chemicals or sandblasting, which could leave damage that can’t be undone.

A recent visit to the monument on Paseo de Montejo found progress in several sections, where the paint has faded compared with how it looked right after the vandalism. Markings are still clearly visible in other spots.

The damage dates back to March 8, when demonstrators marking International Women’s Day covered large parts of the monument in paint. Not wishing to escalate hostilities, the city did little to stop the attacks on the structure.

INAH’s Yucatán office later found the damage there to be the most extensive of any structure along the avenue. The mix of materials used means no single cleaning method works everywhere, so crews have had to test techniques section by section.

That careful approach is part of why the cleanup is taking so long. Removing paint with lasers is slower than conventional methods precisely because it’s designed not to damage the stone underneath. City officials said in August that the work, carried out by staff from Mérida’s Urban Development Department, could take another three or four months. As of this month, workers on-site say there’s still no firm date for wrapping up. The Mérida monument, the city’s most iconic, may never be completly free of markings left by protestors.

The cost to taxpayers

INAH had estimated in March that a full restoration project — covering the Monumento a la Patria along with nearby monuments to Felipe Carrillo Puerto and Justo Sierra O’Reilly — could cost around MX$8 million, or roughly US$470,000, well above the roughly MX$500,000 spent cleaning similar vandalism after 2022’s feminist marches. Officials pointed to a damage assessment that found the monument’s affected area was far larger this time, covering its columns, low walls, access stairs and the base of its eagle sculpture.

Designed by sculptor Rómulo Rozo and inaugurated in 1956, the Monumento a la Patria is considered one of Yucatán’s defining landmarks. It’s also become a recurring target during 8M marches, which have left paint on Paseo de Montejo monuments before, though rarely on this scale.

For now, the structure remains a work in progress — its faded but still-visible graffiti a reminder of how complicated undoing the damage has turned out to be.

Fast Facts

• Location: Paseo de Montejo, Mérida
• Built: 1956, by sculptor Rómulo Rozo
• Damaged: March 8, 2026, during 8M marches
• Cleaning method: laser removal, authorized by INAH
• Work led by: Mérida’s Urban Development Department
• August estimate: three to four more months of work
• Status in mid-September: no firm completion date

With reporting by Pablo May Pech for Diario de Yucatán, with additional background from Infobae and Yucatán Magazine’s previous coverage