Mexico City (AFP)

Mexican authorities confirmed Monday that a statue of Italian navigator and explorer Christopher Columbus will be replaced by that of an indigenous woman, days before the 200th anniversary of the country's independence from Spanish rule.

"The sculpture will be moved to a safe, dignified and adequate place," said the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) in a statement.

In its place will be placed a sculpture of an "Olmec woman" by Mexican artist Pedro Reyes, Mexico City mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said at a public event that coincided with the celebration of the International Day on Sunday. indigenous women.

"It is precisely the indigenous women who have perhaps carried the greatest weight in Mexican history and who have received the least recognition," she said.

The decision also represents an act of "social justice", added Mr. Sheinbaum, as well as the recognition of 500 years of "indigenous resistance" since the conquest.

The statue of Christopher Columbus, who is credited with discovering America under the patronage of the Spanish Crown, was placed in a roundabout on the central avenue Paseo de la Reforma in 1877, very close to the ruins from the Templo Mayor, the heart of Aztec civilization.

The authorities withdrew it in October 2020 so that it could be "taken care of by personnel specialized in conservation and restoration".

But instead of returning it to the same place, it will be sent to another district of the capital to avoid "the risks for this piece of important artistic and historical value", declared the INAH.

The statue's removal came shortly after a social media appeal was broadcast to bring it down, in "tribute to the millions of indigenous people and descendants of Africans slaughtered" after the discovery of America, according to the campaign organizers.

The statue of Christopher Columbus, as well as the monument of the Angel of Independence, were also marked with protest graffiti during feminist marches.

The government of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador says his government defends indigenous causes and has called on the Spanish government and the Vatican to issue historic apologies for the abuses committed during the conquest and evangelization of their territory.

© 2021 AFP