Posted on 11/07/2004 4:06:24 PM PST by traumer
Bargain-hungry Mexican shoppers have flocked to a new Wal-Mart supermarket that environmentalists claim will threaten one of the nation's treasures. Around 200 shoppers queued for hours to be the first to enter the store, which is half a mile from the ancient Mexican pyramids at Teotihuacan.
"People need the well-being of their families more than culture," said one.
Environmental groups had argued that the store was too close to the ruins and would erode the local way of life.
While the Wal-Mart store was overflowing with shoppers on its opening day, a handful of local opponents kept a vigil outside the 2,000-year-old Teotihuacan pyramids.
They pledged to continue a protest that has drawn international attention and prompted a national debate.
Buffer zone
"It's like planting the staff of globalization in the heart of ancient Mexico," said Homero Aridjis, a writer and environmentalist who led a national drive to block the store.
"It is supremely symbolic."
Mexico's national anthropology institute that oversees the ruins - located outside Mexico City - has said that the store poses no threat.
The United Nations and the Paris-based International Council on Monuments and Sites also "signed-off" the store. It is located in a buffer zone that is part of the archaeological site, but where hundreds of other, mainly smaller businesses have sprouted in the past decade or more.
***I have never gone past a Wal-Mart that didn’t have blue bags blowing all over the place.***
You must bee out of the loop. W-M has changed to a white bag.
OH you are good. I looked at Traumer's quote of Nietzche and thought, 'huh?, what does that mean.' This Nitze guy was foolish.
This looks just like the Wal-Mart in El Paso, Tx.
This article fails to mention that (per 11-4 Reuters article)that 'hundreds of other mainly smaller businesses have sprouted in the past decade or more' in the same area where Wal-Mart has located.
Would like to see a pic of this area; would be interesting to see what these 100's of other shops sell and what shape they are in.
Oops, if I had read thoroughly, it Did indeed mention that. My Bad!
LOL!!!! can it be moved across the border?
Just one more reason to hate the USA.......
Like being hungry. Shoes made out of tires. Having only one set of clothes.
Yes at all cost the simple local way of life must be preserved. (As long as the Environmentalist don't have to live it.)
Says it all...
Nietzche is dead. - God
Read all comments before posting.
Those bags are called Arkansas tumbleweeds.
I was a Philosophy major in college. Not only was he foolish, he has syphillis, and hated Christians with a passion. My verdict: today he would be a Democrat.
LOL!!! I lived in Searcy for two yrs..I know what you mean! :)
I want to know who "approved" the building of these pyramids. Where were the enviornmentalists when the pristine jungle was destroyed by these monstrosities. It's way past time that these pyramids be torn down so that nature can take its course. After all, Walmart will need additional parking spaces in the near future.
"ALL your pyramids... belong to us !"
And what would you be doing with the pyramids? They are in ruins, not even pyramids in good repair. It will cost you a fortune to renovate them to Las Vegas standards.
Hey maybe like 20,000 years from now that WalMart will be considered an archeological site.
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