How to See Leon Trotsky’s House in Mexico City

While everyone flocks to the Museo Frida Kahlo when spending time in Mexico City’s Coyoacan, there is another small house just a few blocks away that contains another museum worth checking out. Most people don’t think of Leon Trotsky when picturing Mexico City, however it is this small house that the former Soviet revolutionary called his last residence and is also where he was assassinated in 1940. While its nowhere near as popular with tourists as Frida Kahlo’s Casa Azul, given the proximity, you can easily stop by the Museo Casa de Leon Trotsky on the same day. The Museum should only take half an hour or so to experience.

• If you’re planning a trip to Mexico City and want to know all the incredible places the city has to offer, check out my recommended 3 day itinerary HERE.

Museo Casa de Leon Trotsky – The Basics:

• Where? Av Rio Churubusco 410, Del Carmen, Coyoacan, Mexico.
• When? The Museo Casa de Leon Trotsky is open daily from 10.00am to 5.00pm Wednesday to Monday (closed Tuesdays).
• How much? General admission to the Museum costs $40 MXN. Children 6 years and under enter the museum for free. You can purchase tickets at the door.
• How to get there: Coyoacan is about a 20 minute drive south of the Centro Historico. Given how cheap and safe Uber is in Mexico City, its the easiest way to get to the neighbourhood. Alternatively, you can take Metro Line 3 to Coyoacan station.
• Website: http://museotrotsky.org.mx/

Who was Leon Trotsky?

Leon Trotsky was a member of the Politburo that assumed power in the Soviet Union following the events of the 1917 Russian Revolution. After a falling out with political rival Joseph Stalin in 1929, Trotsky was exiled from the USSR and fled with his wife Natalie across Europe, before being granted political asylum by Mexico in 1937. The esteemed artist and prominent leftist Diego Rivera first learned of Trotsky’s plight while working on his mural for the Rockefeller Center in New York City and was involved in the efforts to bring the Soviet Revolutionary to Mexico City, initially living with Rivera and Frida Kahlo in the Casa Azul.

Despite living in exile, Trotsky remained critical of the Stalinist regime, publishing his Diary and 3 volumed History of the Russian Revolution, and was condemned to death in absentia following his expulsion. Numerous attempts were made on Trotsky’s life while on the run. Meanwhile an affair with Frida and an ideological split with Rivera led to Trotsky relocating to the house that contains the Museo Casa de Leon Trotsky today. It was in the study of this property that Leon Trotsky was assassinated by a Catalan Stalinist named Ramon Mercader. The assassin had gained Trotsky’s trust under the name Jacson Monard, posing as Trotsky’s personal secretary before smashing an ice axe through the Revolutionary’s skull, ending his life. The study remains untouched to this day, left in the exact state it was in when Trotsky died.

Trotsky’s house was declared a National Historic Monument in 1982. It was converted into the Museo Casa de Leon Trotsky in 1990 and is today maintained by a non-profit organisation helping other political dissidents seek asylum in Mexico.

What to see in the Leon Trotsky Museum

You enter the Museo Casa de Leon Trotsky through the Guards Quarters. Lining the boundaries of the property, today they contain a mixture of permanent and temporary exhibitions focused on the history and ideals of Trotsky. Attention is given to the variations in Trotsky vision for the USSR compared to Lenin and Stalin’s. Photos, biographical notes and memoirs and various pieces of memorabilia are also on display. Some of the more notable pieces include a famous collection of photos of Trotsky and his wife with other contemporaries including Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, and a depiction of Trotsky’s own family tree. This part of the museum is a good overview, particularly if you don’t know much about the Soviet Revolutionist’s background.

The hallmark section of the Museum is the actual restored house that Trotsky lived in. One thing that is immediately noticeable as you approach the small dwelling are the bullet hole speckled walls. These marks serve as the reminder of a previous assassination attempt in which David Alfaro Siqueiros and a following of Stalinists disguised themselves as police officers and set up machine guns in the surrounding courtyard, riddling the house with bullets. Trotsky survived the attack by hiding in a corner in the bedroom, however his grandson was wounded. You can see these bullet holes in the walls as you move through the house, especially in Trotsky’s bedroom. You’ll also see parts of the house’s defence systems as you wander through including armour plating on the windows, while coming across various personal effects throughout such as Trotsky’s typewriter and kitchenware. The tour culminates in the study, where Trotsky’s trademark glasses fell in the struggle and today are set atop other items at the murder scene.

After seeing the house, take a moment in the garden filled courtyard and see the centrepiece tomb. Engraved with the hammer and sickle, the memorial contains Trotsky’s ashes.

Hopefully this guide has given you an idea of what you’ll learn about and see on a trip to the Museo Casa de Leon Trotsky. While it won’t make the top of any must-do lists for Mexico City, its a quick stop and an interesting one in a part of the city that you’ll definitely want to spend time in. If you’ve been to the Museum, what did you find was the most interesting part?