INAH will oversee repairs to Guadalajara's Government Palace, state Congress and Cathedral

Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) will supervise the restoration of three historic buildings in the center of Guadalajara, Jalisco, after they were damaged during what it calls a citizens' mobilization on October 18. They are the Government Palace (Palacio de Gobierno), the building of the Jalisco state Congress and the Cathedral, with its Sagrario Metropolitano. Graffiti was painted on the palace and the Cathedral, and the Congress's main door was burned, INAH said on October 30.

The three are built of yellow cantera stone and are protected by law as monuments, under the federal culture ministry through INAH. Wendy Silva Beltrán, a restorer and appraiser at INAH's Jalisco center who is in charge of inspecting the work, said the Government Palace was the worst affected.

The damage, building by building

To lift the paint, INAH plans a deep-cleaning technique developed by graduates of the Escuela de Conservación y Restauración de Occidente. It has three stages: a solvent that softens the graffiti without weakening the stone, cleaning with natural fibers such as ixtle brushes, loofahs or natural sponges, and a final wash with water and neutral soap. Silva Beltrán said the bare cantera has no sacrificial layer to protect it, which makes it one of the biggest challenges of the restoration.

Where stone has been lost, it will be replaced with similar material, because the volcanic-stone quarry in the Huentitán ravine that supplied the original closed at the end of the 20th century, she said. She added that exact replicas of the palace's three damaged doors, in cedar and wrought iron, have been proposed, and that their carvings, ornaments and stained glass will be reproduced. At the Congress, she suggests replacing the burned main door with a replica as well, and says the soot on the stone around it must be removed with the same method used on the graffiti. Silva Beltrán also recommended giving the buildings a protective coating in the future, to preserve them and lower the cost of later repairs.

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INAH said the buildings will be treated once the insurer completes its assessment (peritaje). It gave no start date and did not say whether any of the three will close to visitors during the work. Its three estimates add up to 20.6 million pesos, or about $1.1 million at Banco de México's FIX rate of 18.7962 pesos per dollar on October 30, by our calculation.

The U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Mexico have warned of more demonstrations in the Guadalajara area since. Their alert of October 23 said a march was planned for Sunday, October 25, from Parque Morelos to the Palacio Municipal in the historic center, with a large police presence and traffic disruptions expected along Calle Independencia and Avenida Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla. The alert advises: "Demonstrations can be unpredictable; avoid areas around protests and demonstrations."

The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), whose Mexico advice was last updated on October 20 and was still current on October 31, advises against all but essential travel to two parts of Jalisco: "the areas south and south-west of Lake Chapala to the border with the state of Colima," for which its regional-risks page names 40 municipalities, and 11 municipalities it names in the north of the state. Guadalajara is in neither list. On protests, it warns that demonstrations "can be tense, confrontational and potentially violent" and says: "It is illegal for foreign nationals to participate in political activities in Mexico. If you join demonstrations, the Mexican authorities may detain and deport you." It advises: "Monitor local media and avoid all demonstrations."