Chapala Mayor Javier Degollado has issued a public apology in response to the local firestorm sparked by a faux pas in the set up of the nativity scene display along the esplanade opposite City Hall.
In lining up the life-size figures of the Holy Family, Magi, shepherds, beasts and other Creche characters last weekend, government personnel cloaked a bust of national hero Benito Juárez with foliage shaped to resemble a Christmas tree.
The cover-up caused outrage and derision among scores of citizens who posted messages and images on social media to express their scorn. Members of Chapala’s Valentín Gómez Farías Masonic Lodge took particular offense and appealed directly to the mayor to free their idol. The story quickly spread to state and national news media.
Juarez, who served five terms as Mexico’s president between 1858 and 1872, is remembered for his antipathy toward organized religion, especially the Catholic Church, that was largely motivated by his adherence to Freemasonry. In fact, when the Juárez bust was relocated to the median strip in front of the City Hall entrance last March, it was symbolically placed with the figure’s back turned towards the San Francisco Church.
Staffers rearranged the nacimiento on Wednesday morning, leaving the bust fully exposed and outside the confines of a rustic protective fence surrounding the figures.