Ricardo Pascoe Pierce
When former President López Obrador announced in 2020 that the founding of Tenochtitlán would be commemorated on May 13, 2021, it sparked a debate about the presidential date. It was reminiscent of that idea of “presidential time” when a President would ask for the date and time, and the aides would respond obsequiously, “The one you indicate, Mr. President”.
Renowned historians and archaeologists criticized the presidential decision since important research dated the foundation to 1325. Arno Burkholder, a doctor of history, said: “Tenochtitlán was not founded on May 13, 1321…we assume that the Mexica began to live on the islet in 1325. The date of May 13 was invented to tie it to the defeat of Tenochtitlán in 1521”.
Enrique Ortiz Garcia wrote: “Where is the date of the 2nd house, 1325? The Crónica Mexicayotl mentioned the same one. Why the change?
Eduardo Matos Moctezuma, one of the most authoritative voices in Mexican archaeology, pointed out that the foundation year was, according to all available sources, 1325. He added that assuring that the event took place in 1321 is a case of “historical manipulation”. And one could add to what Matos said it is a “political manipulation” case.
Despite what was pointed out by experts, the international event was held at the Templo Mayor in Mexico City, in the company of the former president of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, and the now-former head of the City Government, Claudia Sheinbaum. President López Obrador said, “700 years ago was the beginning of a new and fruitful stage in the history of our country…Seen from a distance, it is admirable that this fragile Xiximec tribe had erected a powerful state in barely 200 years.”
Recently, the head of the Mexico City Government, Clara Brugada, announced her intention to decree 2025 for the 700 Years of the Foundation of Tenochtitlan. At the event, the head of government noted, “As the first chronicles relate, Mexico City Tenochtitlan was founded in the year 2 Casa, 2 Calli, that is, in the year 1325 of our era.”
She also said, “We will create an allusive official image to be used by the Mexico City government and all its agencies throughout 2025.”
“We are going to summon…a broad and plural process to create another coat of arms for Mexico City since the current one only represents a part of our city’s history, the viceregal city…It is time to create another coat of arms…that represents all the history and greatness of Mexico Tenochtitlan.”
Mexico City’s Culture Secretary brought up two moments that mark, in her opinion, the city’s history. One was the founding of the city in 1325. And second, the assassination of Cuauhtémoc at the hands of Hernán Cortés. It emphasizes the roots of our history and colonization as two intermingled processes.
In 2021, we experienced López Obrador’s political use of the city’s founding, which became an international event about dates and facts. Now, the city is summoned to an anti-colonial historical interpretation of its roots.
Both events fall under the temptation of retrotopia. The thinker Zygmunt Bauman defines retrotopia as “the dreaming of an ideal future State with the nostalgia of an unreal past”. Inventing an unreal past that serves to fantasize about an ideal future is something that does not help Mexico City. Looking for another way to rethink our collective past, present, and future is advisable.
Further Reading: