Last week, cultural organisations affiliated with Mexico\u2019s National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature (INBAL), including some of Mexico City\u2019s most popular museums like Palacio de Bellas Artes, Museo de Arte Moderno and Museo Nacional de Arte, unexpectedly shut down due to union demands over working conditions and uniforms. Institutions closed abruptly on 9 September and remained closed on 10 September; after negotiations behind closed doors, they reopened on 11 September.<\/p>\n
The INBAL oversees Mexican heritage from the 20th century onward, managing 29 schools, 18 museums and several theatres. It was created in 2015, under the ministry of culture, to centralise cultural policy after years under the ministry of education. Budget cuts\u2014including a projected 20% reduction for INBAL in 2026<\/a>\u2014along with longstanding structural issues, have weakened the ministry of culture.<\/p>\n \u201cThe ministry was founded to restructure cultural organisations, yet it has failed to do so,\u201d says a person with direct knowledge of the inner workings of INBAL, speaking to The Art Newspaper on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.<\/p>\n The closure highlights a key issue within INBAL: the disparity in working conditions and budget distribution between unionised workers\u2014who often serve in administrative and operational roles\u2014and independent contractors, known as Cap\u00edtulo 3000, a budgetary category for temporary service contracts.<\/p>\n \u201cSome unions close cultural spaces to pursue their interests and exercise political influence, while Cap\u00edtulo 3000 workers, often qualified experts in key roles, lack benefits and face delayed pay,\u201d explains a former INBAL worker who resigned due to the harsh conditions.<\/p>\n The strike revolved mainly around uniform procurement. Unions representing INBAL workers demanded they be provided prepaid cards with which to purchase uniforms, allowing more flexibility, instead of INBAL distributing garments already purchased and which \u201care underused in the first place\u201d, according to the former INBAL worker.<\/p>\n Representatives for INBAL did not respond to The Art Newspaper\u2019s requests for comment.<\/p>\n Years of protests but no progress<\/p>\n Since at least 2018, Cap\u00edtulo 3000 workers have voiced their concerns<\/a>, protesting and posting on social media with hashtags like #YaP\u00e1gameINBAL (\u201cpay me INBAL\u201d) and #conTRATOdigno (\u201cworthy contract\u201d). Promises and legal reforms have been made but yielded temporary solutions at best.<\/p>\n \u201cFor years, we have carried out essential work within INBAL, yet under schemes that deny us basic labor rights: no social security, seniority or benefits, and unguaranteed renewal,\u201d reads an 11 September letter addressed to Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum, quoted by the newspaper Exc\u00e9lsior<\/a>, and signed by Cap\u00edtulo 3000 workers who say they have not been paid since June.<\/p>\n The crisis is affecting other institutions dependent on the ministry of culture. In June, workers at the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) closed venues like the Museo Nacional de Antropolog\u00eda due to a shortage of contracted security personnel<\/a>. On 11 September, unionised workers led a two-day closure<\/a> of the Biblioteca Vasconcelos, the country\u2019s most important library, which houses Gabriel Orozco\u2019s M\u00e1trix M\u00f3vil (2006), is part of the General Directorate of Libraries and is also under the ministry of culture. The library\u2019s closure shutdown partly stemmed from shortages of basic needs like water.<\/p>\n On September 9, the culture ministry announced an increase in museum fees for 2026, sparking controversy before clarifying that it will apply only to non-residents and INAH sites. Yet museum fees, even during major exhibitions, do not fund operations, since they go to the Federal Treasury. \u201cINBAL\u2019s museums do not benefit from ticket revenue generated by their efforts,\u201d says a source familiar with INBAL\u2019s budget.<\/p>\n Observers in the arts and culture sector worry that such labour and funding disputes could cause long-term problems as the workers responsible for world-renowned collections and programmes are left burnt out and unsupported.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a talent drain from INBAL due to excruciating working conditions impacting physical and mental health,\u201d says a source who experienced such conditions firsthand. \u201cThis also endangers heritage as it is left in underqualified hands.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Last week, cultural organisations affiliated with Mexico\u2019s National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature (INBAL), including some of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":438041,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3939],"tags":[4021,4020,4022,77,148374,72209,4842,2579,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-438040","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-design","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-labour-disputes","13":"tag-mexico-city","14":"tag-museums-heritage","15":"tag-protests","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115235513062744370","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/438040","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=438040"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/438040\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/438041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=438040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=438040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=438040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}