The possible decision to sell pieces of art belonging to the Detroit Institute of Arts Museum as a stopgap measure after Detroit declared bankruptcy has generated uncertainty among Mexican authorities and academics who don't see the measure as positive.
The Detroit Institute of Arts Museum is home to a dozen of the most important works of Mexican muralist Diego Rivera, among which "La Industria de Detroit" stands out, a mural that many specialists have fought to keep off an eventual auction list.
According to the BBC, the mayor of Detroit has been fast to say that he has no intentions to sell the heritage that is part of the Institute of Arts. However, the appraisement made by auction houses of the 60,000 works exhibited has raised alarm on both sides of the border.
The muralist's daughter, Guadalupe Rivera Marín, expressed her worry to BBC. "It would be an aberration against art and the rights of the citizens, the people of Detroit, if those murals were sold," she declared.
In Mexico, the BBC says, there is already controversy surrounding the legacy of the works of one of the most renowned artists of Mexican history.
Six Rivera paintings were bought by Elba Esther Gordillo, former president of the National Syndicate of Education Workers, who is currently in jail over charges of money laundering and diverting syndicate funds to her personal accounts in the sum of 2,600 million pesos.
As part of the investigations and trial against Elba Esther, these Rivera works could be confiscated by Mexican authorities, although their future is uncertain.
The painter's daughter, along with specialists, has insisted that the authorities should recover these works in favor of the Republic. "You have to think about the government's responsibility to recover them and they become, along with my father's entire work, part of the artistic fortune of the nation," Rivera Marín told BBC.
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