Poll: Aztec ruler Cuauhtémoc belongs on Mexican currency
Who should be on Mexico’s new 500-peso bill? The Aztec ruler Cuauhtémoc, say 34 percent of voters in an El Universal poll.
The second-most-popular choice (27 percent) is to keep Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera on the bill, which is the most commonly circulated in Mexico.
Close behind (21 percent) is Lázaro Cárdenas, a general in the Constitutionalist Army during the Mexican Revolution and president of Mexico between 1934 and 1940.
In fourth place (18 percent) is 119-century general and politician Ignacio Zaragoza, hero of the Battle of Puebla. His portrait adorned the bill when it was introduced into circulation in 1994.
The Bank of Mexico will unveil the new design at 1 p.m. Mexico City time on a live-stream here.
Poll-winner Cuauhtémoc’s reign was from 1520 to 1521, making him the last Aztec emperor.
On social media, rumor has it that former president Benito Juárez will be honored on the 500-peso bill, but he’s already depicted on the 20-peso note. Social networks also spread detailed images of what’s said to be the new design. The Bank of Mexico did not confirm the image.
Pre-Hispanic ruler Texcoco Nezahualcóyotl is depicted on the 100-peso bill; writer Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz has his portrait on 200-peso bills; and priest and independence hero Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla’s face is on 1,000-peso bills.
The redesign will also have features including watermarks and florescent inks to safeguard against counterfeiting.
The previous bills, with Diego and Frida, will still be legal tender, but as banks receive them, they will trade them for the new currency.
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