Government Palace

Government Palace (Palacio de Gobierno) is on the n. side of Plaza de la Independencia. It dates from 1892. Take the wide stairway to the second floor, where the walls of one room are adorned with murals by Meridano artist Fernando Castro Pacheco depicting traditional Mayan symbols as well as the violent appropriation of their culture by the Spanish. A hall of history, also on the second floor, chronicles the destruction by Spanish bishop Diego de Landa of the Mayan codices, pictorial history books.