The Supreme Court of Mexico

Standing next to the National Palace in the heart of Mexico City is the austere building of the Supreme Court.

I had read that the building contained some paintings by the famous muralist José Clemente Orozco (one of the "Big Three of the Mexican Muralist Movement").  I decided to see if I could enter the building as a tourist to see the murals.  Visitors are permitted, but you must leave a photo ID at the front desk.   I was given a visitor's badge, and  I was able to wander through the corridors of the entire building with no problem.  Photography inside is not allowed, and I had to check my camera.  Fortunately I was able to find a few pictures on the internet so that I could share with you a bit of what I saw.

The Orozco murals were painted in 1941, and are located in the center of the building.   Some of them are quite critical of the establishment.  Corruption and "phony justice" are shown as rampant, but they are defeated by the flames of "true justice".

Although the Orozco paintings are interesting, I discovered that there is much more artwork to see.  Since 2000 the four stairwells at each corner of the building have been decorated with three story murals.  The artists may not be as well-known, but their art was quite interesting.

One stairwell was painted by Luis Nishizawa, an artist of Japanese and Mexican ancestry.

The most compelling murals were those of the stairwell painted by Rafael Cauduro.  His paintings are a bold, "no holds barred" representation of INJUSTICE in Mexico.  The disturbing images portray the dark side of Mexico... torture, rape, imprisonment, secret files on dissenters, and the trampling of protestors.  It is quite remarkable to find this scathing indictment of the justice system to be located in the headquarters of the highest court of the land.

The paintings by Cauduro in themselves make a visit to the Supreme Court Building worthwhile.