Statue of indigenous woman to replace Christopher Columbus in Mexico City
“Forever a genocide.
A dancer, in front of the base of the statue of Christopher Columbus, without the latter, in the center of Mexico in 2020. AFP - PEDRO PARDO
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In Mexico City, the statue of Christopher Columbus will not return to its place on one of the main avenues of the capital: it will be replaced by that of an indigenous woman.
It was the mayor of the Mexican capital who announced it this weekend.
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The bronze statue of Christopher Columbus was
removed
from the Paseo de la Reforma
last year
for restoration work, but also to prevent it from being the target of protesters.
The memory of the famous Genoese navigator is increasingly contested.
In the United States
, his statues have already been removed from several cities after the Black Lives Matter movement protests and the opening of a debate on the colonial era.
The mayor of Mexico alluded to it: there are "
two ways of seeing things, that of Europe with the" discovery of America ", while there, there were ancient civilizations, and the one from here, which sees the arrival of a European in America, the meeting of two worlds, followed by colonization.
"
However, explained Claudia Sheinbaum, "
we recognize the role played by Christopher Columbus
".
The statue, once restored, will be relocated to a “
worthy
” place, the America Park.
On the Paseo de la Reforma, it will be replaced by the statue of a woman, an indigenous person from the pre-Columbian people of the Olmecs.
A symbol of "
social justice
", explained the mayor of Mexico City and presidential candidate of 2024, which highlights the role that women have played in history, particularly indigenous women.
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