Museo de la Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público

The Museo de la Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público, also known as the Art Museum of the Secretariat of Finance and Public Credit, is an art museum situated in the historic center of Mexico City. It occupies the former Palacio del Arzobispado, a structure built atop the ruins of a pyramid dedicated to the Aztec god Tezcatlipoca. The institution focuses on modern and contemporary art, with its core collection formed through a distinctive program that allows artists to pay their taxes by donating their own works. This unique acquisition model has made the museum a significant repository for Mexican art from the 18th to the 20th centuries.

The building was originally constructed around 1530 under Friar Juan de Zumárraga, the first archbishop of New Spain, who purchased properties near the future cathedral to establish the archbishopric. The complex served ecclesiastical functions, including housing a prison, and was the site where independence conspirator Francisco Primo de Verdad y Ramos died in 1808. In the mid-18th century, Archbishop Juan Antonio Vizarrón y Eguiarreta commissioned a complete reconstruction, with architect José Miguel de Rivera Sarabia directing the project. By 1771, under Archbishop Alonso Núñez de Haro, the structure reached its current imposing form. The building was nationalized in 1859 under secularization laws, sold in 1861, and briefly repurposed before the Finance Ministry Accountancy Department occupied it in 1867. The museum concept originated with the Pago en Especie tax payment program initiated in 1957, championed by artist David Alfaro Siqueiros. The program gained significant traction in the 1970s under President Luis Echeverría Álvarez. Following severe damage from the 1985 earthquakes, the Secretariat of Hacienda y Crédito Público initiated a restoration program in 1982. The building was subsequently converted into a cultural space, concluding remodeling in 1994, with archaeological excavations in 1997 exposing remnants of the Tezcatlipoca pyramid.

The museum's holdings are divided into two primary sections: the Pago en Especie collection and the Acervo Patrimonial collection. The Pago en Especie program, which permits artists to settle tax liabilities with their own creations, forms the core of the museum's art holdings. By 2009, this program had amassed 4,924 pieces, while the broader museum acervo contained 4,630 assets. The Acervo Patrimonial collection comprises approximately 10,000 varied items rescued from government offices, including furniture, office equipment, hardware, ornamental objects, applied arts, paintings, sculptures, fiscal philately, and numismatics. These pieces were recovered from institutions such as the Palacio Nacional, the Casa de Moneda, federal finance offices, the stamp printing workshop, and the General Directorate of Customs.

The permanent exhibit, Pago en Especie y Acervo Patrimonial, features works by Mexicans and foreign residents, spanning the 18th to 20th centuries. Historical artists in the collection include Juan Correa and Diego García. The modern and contemporary holdings represent a cross-section of Mexico's most prominent artists, including Diego Rivera, Rufino Tamayo, Federico Cantú, Antonio Ruiz, Adolfo Best Maugard, Raúl Anguiano, Rodolfo Morales, Rafael Coronel, Manuel Felguérez, Vicente Rojo, Leonora Carrington, Francisco Toledo, Juan Soriano, Alberto Gironella, Federico Silva, Gilberto Aceves Navarro, Feliciano Béjar, Pedro Friedeberg, Marta Palau, Susana Sierra, Luis Nishizawa, Ángela Gurría, Roger von Gunten, Francisco Corzas, Francisco Capdevilla, Fernando Castro Pacheco, Arnaldo Coen, José Luis Cuevas, José Chávez Morado, and Arnold Belkin. The collection includes paintings, collages, art objects, engravings, and sculptures. Additionally, the museum houses an exhibit dedicated to the Aztec god Tezcatlipoca, featuring remnants and objects from the Mexica culture discovered during the building's restoration.

The former archbishop's palace is an imposing example of 18th-century palatial architecture, characterized by two stone-columned courtyards. The facade features a monumental portal flanked by two estipite columns, through which the highest ecclesiastical authorities of the colonial era once passed. The complex is topped by a cornice combining inverted arches with merlons. The site holds deep religious significance as the location of the miracle of the roses of Our Lady of Guadalupe, where, in 1531, Saint Juan Diego unfolded his tilma before Zumárraga, revealing the miraculously imprinted image. Although a sculpture commemorating this event was blessed by Pope Saint John Paul II, civil authorities denied its placement at the former palace, and it was installed at the Metropolitan Cathedral instead. The ground floor incorporates visible remnants of the pre-Hispanic pyramid of Tezcatlipoca, the protector of warriors, which was destroyed to make way for the colonial structure.

The museum is located at Moneda 4 in the Cuauhtémoc borough of Mexico City, in close proximity to major historic center attractions such as the Palacio de Bellas Artes and the Zócalo. It is open to the public from Tuesday to Sunday, between 10:00 and 17:00, and admission is completely free. The institution operates under the Secretariat of Finance and Public Credit, specifically affiliated with the Dirección General de la Conservaduría de Palacio Nacional y Patrimonio Cultural. In addition to its permanent displays, the museum hosts temporary contemporary art exhibitions, cultural events, and book presentations within its historic architectural setting.