# Statue of Andrés Manuel López Obrador

* This article is part of a series about Andrés Manuel López Obrador
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¿Quién es el señor López?
Statue in Atlacomulco :
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The statue of Andrés Manuel López Obrador was a limestone sculpture of the 65th president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador. It was installed on 29 December 2021 at the intersection of Isidro Fabela Avenue and Circuito José Jiménez Cantú, in the municipality of Atlacomulco, State of Mexico. Roberto Téllez Monroy, the outgoing municipal president, ordered its installation; he is a member of the National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) political party, founded by López Obrador.
The statue was toppled and destroyed during the early morning of the change of municipal administration by unidentified people on 1 January 2022 (New Year's Day). Téllez Monroy would file a complaint for vandalism.

## History, installation and destruction

Roberto Téllez Monroy was the mayor of Atlacomulco, State of Mexico, from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2021. He was elected to govern as a representative of the National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) political party, which was founded by Andrés Manuel López Obrador (commonly abbreviated as AMLO), the president of Mexico from 2018 to 2024. On 29 December 2021, Téllez Monroy installed a statue to honor López Obrador. He claimed to have personally paid for the statue with his own funds—MX$50,000 Mexican pesos (approximately US$2,400)—instead of using public money. However, the cost of the sculpture was billed to the municipal treasury so that it would remain as municipal property.
Téllez Monroy explained that the installation aimed to "break stigmas and paradigms" and to allow people to recognize López Obrador's achievements. He described it as a "recognition to the President of the Republic". Notably, Téllez Monroy was the first politician not affiliated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) to preside the municipality. Atlacomulco is historically linked to a political group of the same name, from which several governors have emerged, all of whom were born or raised in the municipality.
In addition to the statue of López Obrador, a bust of Emiliano Zapata was also placed behind it, complementing the monument. A quote attributed to Zapata was inscribed: "Whoever wants to be an eagle should fly, whoever wants to be a worm should crawl, but should not scream when they get stepped on".
During the early hours of 1 January 2022 (New Year's Day), as the administration of Roberto Téllez Monroy transitioned to that of his successor, Marisol Arias Flores, a representative of the opposition coalition Va por México (in which the PRI is an ally), the statue was toppled and destroyed by unidentified individuals. The head and legs of the statue were reported as missing.
According to Téllez Monroy, neighbors reported that around the time of the statue's collapse, the streetlights at the site were turned off. He also noted that the security camera recording the statue was not functioning. Téllez Monroy filed a complaint with the state prosecutor's office for vandalism. As of April 2022, the remains of the statue were still being guarded by local security, as they had not been claimed. Additionally, the complaint filed was reportedly stalled.

## Description

The statue was 1.8 meters (5 ft 11 in) tall and made of pink limestone. The concrete pedestal featured a plaque with a typographical error, displaying the inscription in all caps:
   Andres [sic] Manuel López Obrador Presidente de México 2018–2024
Citizens of Tlalpujahua, Michoacán, sculpted it.

## Reception

Former president of Mexico, Felipe Calderón, stated that the installation exemplifies the meaning of the "Fourth Transformation", López Obrador's political platform. He drew a comparison to the previous phases of the PRI: the National Revolutionary Party, the Party of the Mexican Revolution, and the PRI era, suggesting that MORENA represents its "Fourth Transformation". Calderón added, "Each stage has had the living statue of its maximum leader. Furthermore... in Atlacomulco".
After the statue's demolition, around 20 people protested in front of the municipal palace. Diego Fernández de Cevallos remarked that López Obrador had destroyed the statue himself, referencing his promise to leave "not a stone set upon another".

### López Obrador on monuments

On 2 October 2019, and 10 September 2020, López Obrador stated that he did not want streets, neighborhoods, statues, or monuments bearing his name or likeness, as he believed it was no longer a time for personality cults. On 3 January 2022, he acknowledged the statue but reiterated his stance on monuments.