The Art Newspaper: Impact of Wal-Mart Store Near Teotihuacan

The Art Newspaper -- Impact of Wal-Mart Store Near Teotihuacan:

"A new branch of Bodega Aurrera, the Mexican supermarket chain owned by the US-based corporation Wal-Mart, has opened only 1,500 metres from the palace of the ancient rulers of Teotihuacan, the largest and grandest American pre-Columbian city that flourished between the first and seventh centuries AD, before it was destroyed by fire."

"How will Unesco assess the impact the supermarket will have on Teotihuacan?"

"This is an alarming development. I immediately decided to send a task group to Teotihuacan. This party will be made up of architects and archaeologists and they will first set out to establish whether the Mexican government has honoured its duties regarding the preservation of the site. Furthermore, the archaeological, architectural and urban consequences of building the supermarket will be examined. We are dealing with one of the most important archaeological sites in the world."

Francesco Bandarin, director of the Unesco World Heritage Centre