A Visit to Los Pinos, Where El Presidente Used to Live

Mexico City has a new museum and tourist attraction: A couple of weeks ago Los Pinos, the official residence of the previous presidents since the 1930’s, was handed over to the public by the newly elected president Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Being the serious populist he is, the new president decided to continue living in his private home in the suburb of Tlalpan, and turn Los Pinos into a museum for everyone to enjoy. He wasn’t the first one to do such a thing.

History Repeating Itself

Back in 1934 the equally socialist-minded president Lázaro Cárdenas declared that the Chapultepec Castle, which until then had been the domicile of the previous presidents, should be accessible by the public. So the Castle became the building of the History Museum, and Cárdenas, as well as subsequent presidents, moved into what became known as Los Pinos, in a far corner of Chapultepec park.

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The Worst Day for a Visit

Given that up until very recently the entire site used to be off limits to the general public, and the fact that today happened to be a Sunday, right between Christmas and New Years, everyone and their Tia Maria wanted to see Los Pinos. The organizing officials seemed to be quite prepared for this, making us wait in line before the entrance, and leading the same line all the way through the entire site. But it was a beautiful sunny day, and since we continued walking, albeit slowly, there was no reason to stress.

Not Just a House

The entire complex of Los Pinos is made up of several buildings, all together adding up to 56,000 square meters (602,779 square feet), which is about 14 times as large as the White House. The most impressive of these is the Casa Miguel Alemán, named after the president who commissioned it. It was built in the same lavish style as the Chapultepec Castle, though in the 1940’s, which makes it a bit out of place or time. Though certain presidents preferred to use other buildings on the same premises for their residence, many others made this one their home, including the last president Peña Nieto. This house was also the main venue for presidential banquets and other formal occasions.

Empty Rooms or Heavy Furniture

Once past the main entrance hall, our line of visitors snaked its way through offices, libraries, meeting rooms, all the way to the residential suites upstairs. The former spaces were marked by heavy doors, massive armchairs, desks the size of football fields, and drapery you could lose your whole family in. Upstairs we encountered quite the opposite: other than the polished hardwood floor the rooms were left completely empty. Clearly, when Peña Nieto moved out he took all his furniture with him, leaving the house as empty as he found it. This didn’t stop people from snapping lots of pictures, but so did I, so I should not make fun of them.

Finally we even got to walk through the basement, which included a screening room, as well as a “bunker”. The latter was merely another meeting room, although a bit more spartan looking, possibly for the chance of having to lead the country through an air attack. Not very likely, but it’s always best to be prepared for the worst.

Once outside again, we could take a little stroll through the gardens, before exiting Los Pinos through the main gate, formerly known only from the outside, as it was guarded by heavily armed military police. Though I much prefer the Chapultepec Castle as an example of turn-of-century presidential opulence, Los Pinos can be an interesting place to visit. Preferably one should come on a weekday, nowhere close to any major holidays, and at least several months later, after better part of the Mexican population has had a chance to visit the place.