Leon Trotsky home, Mexico City, Mexico

Leon Trotsky Museum and house, Mexico City

Before visiting Mexico City, I had no idea that Leon Trotsky lived there after his exile from Russia.

Here's the story. Trotsky was a Marxist and Leninist who was a leader in the Bolshevik Revolution. After the revolution he was a high ranking member of the Communist Party and a leader in the post-revolution government. He was also the founder of the Red Army.

But, in the 1920's, Trotsky clashed with Josef Stalin over the leadership and direction of the party, and, therefore the country. Trotsky ultimately lost the power struggle, was stripped of his authority in the Soviet government and eventually removed from the Communist Party as Stalin consolidated power.

Trotsky was exiled from Russia, first to Turkey, then France, then Norway, but was kicked out of each of those countries for his political activities and due to pressure from the Soviet government.

That's how Leon and his family landed in Mexico City. Trotsky and his family moved into Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera's house (The Blue House) in the Coyoacan neighborhood. Frida and Diego were both active politically and avowed Socialists. 

Mural near the Trotsky house, Mexico City

But, Trotsky was forced to leave the house when his relationship with Rivera soured after an affair with Ms. Kahlo. Some have said this adulterous liaison was just a rumor, but biographies of both Frida and Leon have confirmed it.

Trotsky moved his family just around the corner on Avenida Viena. This is where he lived for the last year and half of his life.

Josef Stalin, still angry with Trotsky who was prolific in his writing and vocal in his disagreement with Soviet policies, ordered the NKVD (the Soviet secret police) to assassinate his former comrade. The NKVD sent three autonomous groups to Mexico to carry out the mission, figuring that at least one could carry out the job.

On May 24th, 1940, an NKVD-led group attacked Trotsky's villa, but were repelled by his bodyguards, though Trotsky's grandson suffered a non-life threatening gunshot wound and an assistant to Trotsky was kidnapped and later murdered.

Then, on August 20th, 1940, NKVD operative Ramon Mercader broke into Trotsky's study and stabbed him in the head with an ice pick. But, the attack didn't kill Trotsky and the two men fought, with Trotsky breaking Mercader's hand and spitting on the attacker. Trotsky's bodyguards beat Mercader, but were stopped from killing him by Trotsky himself who wanted Mercader to answer for his actions. Trotsky was taken to the hospital where he died the next day.

Decorated tires at the Trotsky Museum. Why? I have no idea

Conspiracy theories about Trotsky's murder abound, including one where Trotsky's own bodyguard was implicated. However, nothing was proven and Mercader served 20 years in a Mexican prison before being released in 1960. He moved to Cuba and then the Soviet Union. He died of lung cancer in 1978.

You can visit the Trotsky house in Mexico City. It has been turned into a museum, but it is sparse in every sense of the word. The first room has all kinds of prints, posters, and photos of Trotsky, but I must say it doesn't provide a lot of context for the man's life or his work.

Poster in the Trotsky museum

You can wander around the house and garden, which still have some of the Trotsky family furnishings, including a rabbit hutch in the backyard which helps to humanize the man who is usually thought of in strictly political terms.

Rabbit hutch in the garden of the museum

There's also several murals of Trotsky on buildings near the home. The one in this picture has been vandalized with someone writing "PRI" on Trotsky's forehead. Those are the initials of Mexico's Institutional Revolutionary Party, a radical sounding name for the left of center party that ran the Mexican government for 70 years.

Trotsky mural near the museum. Note the "PRI" scrawled on his forehead

I only found out about the Trotsky house after visiting Frida's house nearby, so I went in with little to no knowledge about the man and his life. If you're planning to visit, I would give this one bit of advise. Do a little research about Trotsky and the history of Russia before going. It will give you a better understanding of what you're looking at.
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