Parque Acteal

The Parque Acteal is a neighborhood park in the Iztacalco just east of the giant Pantitlán Metro station. This side of Iztacalco is much newer, and covers territory that was once lake bed.

The park is still dedicated to Leonid Breshnev (1906–1982). He was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1964 until 1982. He served the USSR longer than any leader other than Josef Stalin.

The park was later renamed to honor the memory of the 45 indigenous Tzotzil people killed in a massacre by a paramilitary group in 1997.

• The Acteal massacre cost the lives of 45 people attending a prayer meeting.Among those killed were children and pregnant women, and all members of a pacifist group called Las Abejas (The Bees). Many had expressed support for the Zapatista Liberation Army during the long conflict with the Mexican government (1994-2004). The people were murdered by a paramilitary group called Máscara Roja. The Federal Government of Mexico later admitted culpability in the incident. Many of the perpetrators were sentenced to long prison terms but the incident left a long and lasting scar in the Mexican public and, perhaps most of all, in the communities of the Chiapas highlands.

The Parque Acteal is an important green area in the newer east side of the City where many neighborhoods came together without proper planning. Today it offers shade trees, children games, exercise equipment, and sportz facilities. It’s just a block north of the Mercado José López Portillo.