Costco has been involved in the destruction of the former Casino de la Selva in Cuernavaca, Mexico. Citizens in Cuernavaca have been arrested in their efforts to stop this destruction. Now they are calling for a nine day boycott of Costco. Here is their report: “On December 15th activists in Cuernavaca are going to hold a National Forum for the Defense of the Casino de la Selva. This has been convened by many national organizations along with the Peoples (towns) of the State of Morelos. There will be simultaneous events held in other parts of Mexico and in the U.S. and Canada in support of the event in Cuernavaca. On Sunday the 8th of December we will start the Second International Boycott Costco Campaign which will end on December 16th. You can support us by not shopping at Costco stores on any day between the 8th and the 16th of December. Go to the Costco store with fliers and banners asking people to not shop in Costco. Send a letter to the Mexican Consulate in your area asking that Costco not be allowed to build a store on the grounds of the Casino de la Selva in Cuernavaca.” Here are the excerpts from Sprawl-Busters’ letter to Salvador Beltran del Rio Madrid, the Mexican Consul General in New York: “Dear Mr. Beltran, Sprawl-Busters, which is an international network of anti-sprawl citizens in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Mexico and elsewhere, wish to express our outrage over the destruction carried out on the grounds of the former Casino de la Selva Hotel in Cuernavaca, Mexico, by COSTCO, a U.S. corporation, and its Mexican partner Comercial Mexicana. We are appalled by the destruction of the extensive murals on the walls of the former hotel and the bulldozing and cutting of hundreds of trees, many of which were over one hundred years old. We are aware that members of the Civic Front for the Defense of the Casino de la Selva were unjustifiably imprisoned on August 21, 2002, when they were peacefully opposing the destruction of the hundreds of trees and the construction of two enormous mega-stores in the center of Cuernavaca. It is public knowledge that the government sale of the Casino de la Selva to Costco involved serious irregularities, and we therefore believe that its sale violated the law. With all due respect, we hereby request that you be the channel to forward our concerns to President Vicente Fox, and to Sergio Estrada Cajigal, Governor of the state of Morelos. We are opposed to every kind of violence and violation of human rights, especially when it involves the defense of cultural heritage, historical monuments, and the environment of a People and their right to chose the type of city and world in which we wish to live. We stand in solidarity with the Civic Front for the Defense of the Casino de la Selva and we request that the physical integrity of each and every one of its members be guaranteed. We know that they are constantly being threatened by government officials of the State of Morelos. We join with the Civic Front in its demand that if the Costco store is to be built in Cuernavaca, that it be built in a more appropriate location, at a scale that is compatible with the rest of the built environment. ” cc: Jim Sinegal, CEO Costco Wholesale, P.O. Box 34331, Issaquah, WA 98027 , U.S.A.
Anti-sprawl activists are encouraged to protest the Costco destruction of historic and cultural sites in Mexico by sending an email to Salvador Beltran del Rio Madrid by going to www.consulmexny.org. To find the Mexican consulate in your state, go to www.mexonline.com/consulate.htm. For more information on the efforts of the Civic Front, visit their website at www.procasino.org, and search this database by “Cuernavaca” for more archived stories.
