Clara Brugada launches Utopia Centli maize hub in Mexico City’s Tlalpan

On July 26 2026, Mexico City’s head of government Clara Brugada inaugurated the Utopia Centli (Utopia del Maíz) in the indigenous community of San Miguel Topilejo, Tlalpan. The public complex covers more than 50,000 m² and was built with an investment of 253 million pesos.

The centre provides free health, sport, cultural and care services to over 29,000 local residents. Facilities include a semi‑Olympic pool, sports courts, skate‑park, auditorium, cultural classrooms, medical consults, gynecology and mastography labs, a childcare centre, day‑care for seniors, a communal kitchen, laundry and a germplasm bank with a seed house to preserve native maize. The project aims to protect nine native maize varieties and supports the city’s designation as a territory free of transgenic maize, reinforcing conservation of soils that represent 59 % of the capital’s territory and supply about 70 % of its water.