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A12 WORLD NEWS
Friday 23 November 2018

A 'hospital' for statues patches up Argentine monuments

By ALMUDENA CALATRAVA quired in France in the 19th
Associated Press and 20th centuries, helps
BUENOS AIRES, Argen- set the Argentine capital
tina (AP) — A headless and set it apart from other
Anibal Troilo, one of the Latin American cities.
tango's greatest perform- Pollution and the humidity
ers, rests on a seat holding of the Argentine capital lo-
his concertina. Beside him, cated on the banks of the
tango singer Alberto Cas- Rio de la Plata, affects the
tillo smiles, though he lacks sculptures.
arms. But vandalism is by far their
The Argentine musical worst enemy.
icons are in a hospital of a The attacks on sculptures
sort, where the 2,200 stat- have increased as frustra-
ues and monuments that tion simmers over Argen-
dot Buenos Aires' parks and tina's economic crisis.
plazas are brought when A copy of Auguste Rodin's
they have suffered vandal- "The Thinker," located in the
ism or decay. square in front of the Ar-
City officials say about 20 gentine Congress, has suf-
pieces arrive each month fered the wrath of demon-
— often dismembered, strators who gather there to
broken, sprayed with paint protest against politicians.
or stolen, either as collec- The statue, cast in bronze
tor's items or for scrap met- In this Nov. 6, 2018 photo, statues lay outside a hospital for statues in Buenos Aires, Argentina. from the original mold and
Associated Press
al. Statues are sometimes signed by the French sculp-
damaged by angry pro- stone and marble, clean ervation of outdoor works, coordinates operations at tor, was recently elevated
testers or toppled by peo- away graffiti and mold restorations that would be the city's Monuments and on a pedestal to keep it
ple just for fun. missing appendages. due to age, and not to Artworks shop. away from the spray paint
At the workshop, more than "We'd like to have less of damage done intentional- The abundance of statuary after a fence failed to safe-
a dozen restorers repair this and focus only on pres- ly," said Jorge Grimaz, who and monuments, many ac- guard it.q

Mexico president-elect promises referendum on national guard

Associated Press had looked at nearly three
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexi- dozen active generals and
co's President-elect Andres found that some were the
Manuel Lopez Obrador sons of farmworkers and
said Wednesday he will put mechanics. "The chiefs of
the question of creating a the armed forces are not
national guard to a refer- part of the oligarchy," he
endum conducted by the said.
National Flectoral Institute. The populist said he de-
The proposal aimed at con- cided to create a national
fronting the country's vio- guard because he didn't
lence would require a con- see relying on the police
stitutional reform, meaning alone as an option.
that it would need con- A national guard would in-
gressional approval and a clude military police and
green light from state legis- some federal police.
latures. A separate referendum is
"We're going to do both already scheduled for this
things," Lopez Obrador weekend. That one will be
said, referring to the refer- conducted by a private
endum and constitutional foundation and will include
reform. questions on a number of
The president-elect made Lopez Obrador's proposals.
the announcement to ra- Mexico's President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador speaks about the upcoming changes One of those is related to a
dio journalist Carmen Aris- his administration will impose on national security during the national peace and security plan proposed train line on the
tegui during a wide-rang- conference in Mexico City, Wednesday Nov. 14, 2018. Associated Press Yucatan Peninsula. Scien-
ing interview 10 days be- tists and other academics
fore he takes office. tional criticism for leaning Lopez Obrador has been armed forces, saying that have expressed environ-
A day prior, a coalition of heavily on the army and among those calling for the military's infamous hu- mental fears and called
civil society groups and navy to wage the drug demilitarization, but said he man rights violations were for Lopez Obrador to not
intellectuals signed a let- war. Numerous human had not fully realized how "on the orders received take the train question to
ter rejecting the idea of a rights violations have been hopelessly corrupt civilian from civilian authorities" the public.But Lopez Ob-
national guard under com- blamed on the military for law enforcement agencies and that its leaders had rador has dismissed their
mand of the military. actions conducted in the were. good backgrounds. concerns, saying they were
Mexico has faced interna- name of security. He also defended the Lopez Obrador said he uninformed.q