(2 Oct 2012)
1. Monument to former Azerbaijan president Geidar Aliyev
2. Tilt up statue of Aliyev
3. Close inscription on statue reading "Heydar Aliyev 1923-2003"
4. Pan right man walking past statue
5. Tilt down of plaque in front of statue with dedication in English
6. Wide of monument
7. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) vox pop, Miguel Angel Mendoza, student:
"It's out of place more than anything."
8. Various of statue
9. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) vox pop, Mariana Gasca, student:
"They shouldn't spend millions of pesos on building monuments that have no purpose. It would be better to use it (the money) for public health or fixing the city so it looks better."
10. Wide of monument
STORYLINE
The appearance of a life-size statue of Azerbaijan's "founder of the nation" on Mexico City's elegant Reforma Avenue, not far from Mahatma Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln and Mexico's national heroes, was raising eyebrows and protests on Tuesday.
The Stalin-esque, bronze statue of Heydar Aliyev, the late authoritarian leader of the Caucasus republic, carries a plaque calling him "a brilliant example of infinite devotion to the motherland, loyal to the universal ideals of world peace."
The monument, erected in late August, shows Aliyev sitting in a bronze chair in front of what appears to be an enormous, white marble map of Azerbaijan.
"It's out of place more than anything," said Miguel Angel Mendoza, an 18-year-old high school student who was walking past the monument to the longtime ruler, who led Azerbaijan first as Communist Party boss during Soviet times and then as president from 1993 to 2003.
It emerged that Azerbaijan contributed much of the 65 million pesos (5 million US dollars) it cost to renovate two Mexico City parks, allowing it to put monuments in both.
Critics say that Aliyev, who stifled dissent, shouldn't be on a boulevard decorated with statues to Mexican and foreign heroes.
It wouldn't be the first time that Azerbaijani PR efforts have drawn criticism.
Rights groups protested Azerbaijan's hosting of the Eurovision song contest, and the radical feminist group Femen protested its hosting of this year's European Cup soccer championship.
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