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Novermber 5, 2004
Wal-Mart trumps protests, opens near Mexican ruinsPublished by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Teotihuacan, Mexico --- A Wal-Mart-owned discount store quietly opened its doors Thursday less than a mile from the ancient temples of Teotihuacan, despite months of protests claiming the sprawling complex was an insult to Mexican culture.
Protesters held hunger strikes and blockades in a campaign to stop the discount store, which bears the name of Wal-Mart unit Bodega Aurrera. Many said the building would spoil the view from the ruins, including the towering Pyramid of the Sun, which many tourists visit each day.
Yet no opponents were present Thursday afternoon as the store opened for business, welcoming hundreds of people who had waited most of the day to shop. The store celebrated the opening with fireworks and employees shouting, ''Yes we can!''
Wal-Mart had refused to publicize a date for its opening, but news spread by word of mouth.
The dispute in Teotihuacan --- a town built next to the ruins of the 2,000-year-old metropolis --- has illustrated how the allure of low prices and U.S. lifestyles often wins out in Mexico.
''I respect my roots, but I also defend progress and development,'' said Juan Rosas, waiting for the store to open with a crowd of shoppers who began chanting: ''Next we want a movie theater!''
Wal-Mart had argued that the fight against the store was led by local business owners who didn't want to compete.
''I think the best illustration is this group of people who have gathered since 8 a.m. waiting for the store to open,'' said Raul Arguelles, Wal-Mart's vice president of corporate affairs.
Wal-Mart is now Mexico's biggest retailer after buying up numerous Mexican chains in recent years, including companies like Bodega Aurrera.
Despite protests starting in August, the store was rushed to completion after local authorities and the Paris-based International Council on Monuments and Sites, Icomos, said the building would do no harm.
The ruins, located in a valley just north of Mexico City, were built by a little-known culture whose very name has been lost, and were abandoned hundreds of years before the Spaniards arrived.
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This article originally appeared online at: http://www.ajc.com/friday/content/epaper/editions/friday/business_14b8e1d0b525e087001a.html
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***This article was originally published by the sources above and is copyrighted by them. Real Acapulco offers it on our website for educational purposes only in accordance with the 'fair use' of copyrighted material as indicated in section 107 of the US Copyright Law.
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