Mexican officials in Tijuana placed a three-ton section of the former Berlin Wall near the U.S. border with a message to “build a society that knocks down walls and builds bridges.” The message ignores the stark difference in purpose between the two barriers.
During a ceremony in August, Tijuana Mayor Montserrat Caballero and former Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard installed the 12-meter high segment of the fallen Berlin Wall — a wall designed by the former Soviet Union to keep communist-controlled German citizens locked inside and became an icon of the Cold War-era. Guards would frequently use deadly force to stop their citizens from fleeing the oppressive regime.
After four plus years at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, a section of the Berlin Wall is finding a new home at El Parque de la Amistad in Playas de Tijuana.
The official presentation of the fragment is scheduled for Sunday, August 13th. pic.twitter.com/CCNPyD6ev6
— LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes (@LAPlazaLA) August 13, 2023
In sharp contrast, the U.S.-built border barrier is designed to stop the illegal flow of migrants across the border from Mexico into California.
A view of the 12-meter-long, about 3-ton piece of the fallen Berlin Wall donated to the city of Tijuana in Mexico on August 15, 2023. (Carlos Moreno/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
A plaque on the wall segment donated by the Falling Walls Foundation bears a message from Mayor Caballero which reads, in part, “”May this be a lesson to build a society that knocks down walls and builds bridges,” Fox News reported.
Mayor Caballero acknowledged the difference in purpose of the two walls. “The social and political conflict is different than the Berlin Wall, but it’s a wall at the end of the day,” the Tijuana mayor said.
The mayor added that she respects the idea that the U.S. must enforce its own borders. She then added that the U.S. border wall represents “violence” and “family separation.”
Migrants climb the gate of the Guatemala-Mexico international border bridge in Ciudad Hidalgo, Chiapas. (FILE: Pedro Pardo/AFP/Getty Images)
She did not explain if a Mexican border wall along its border with Guatemala also represents “violence” and “family separation.”
Bob Price is the Breitbart Texas-Border team’s associate editor and senior news contributor. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday-morning talk show. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.