Wal-Mart often has to toss the bull around to get out the “real facts” about the company, so what’s so strange about the retailer’s wanting to buy a real, historic bull-fighting ring in Mexico? Unfortunately this story seems to be yet another chapter in the giant corporation’s efforts to ruin special places. In Mexico, they call it destroying “cultural legacy.” Wal-Mart was roundly criticized for building a store near the historic pyramid in Teotihuacan, and Costco for destroying the Casino de la Selva. Now Wal-Mart has its eyes set on another landmark in Mexico. Here’s a first-hand account from a resident who is watching Wal-Mart’s bull fight: “I am a citizen of Ciudad Juarez, a Mexican Border Town across El Paso, Texas. We just found out recently, that Wal-Mart is planning to open a store in the site where the Juarez Bull Ring is. The Building is very old for Juarez
standards it was built in 1946! We are very shocked, since this is one of the oldest and most representative buildings in our city. State law protects this building from being torn down, however, the motions and procedures that are necessary to protect this building from being torn down are very slow to implement, as its the Mexican state’s of Chihuahua’s legislature the one that must declare the Juarez Bull Ring as a historic
Monument for the City. The Juarez Bull Ring is owned privately, and by law, they can sell it to Wal-Mart and tear it down, unless the building has been declared a historic building by the Chihuahua State Legislature. We have approached the mayor of the City of Juarez for support, but he claims he cannot do anything about it because the Bull Ring is privately owned. This, according to the state law of preservation for historic buildings, is not true. If he wanted he could immediately intercede and urgently ask congress to declare the building as a historic monument. However, the Juarez Mayor does not want to get into this since the Juarez Bull ring is owned by a dear friend of his who, in the case of being able to sell it, will receive at least over $5 million from Wal-Mart Mexico. We have inside information that Wal-Mart is about to close the deal to purchase the Juarez Bull Ring in no more than a week, and that after the deal is signed, they plan to tear it down in 60 days!”
For more information on Wal-Mart’s track record in Mexico, search Newsflash by “Mexico.”
