U.S. Statue Removals Inspire Latin American Protestors

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Inspired by the campaign to remove Confederate statues and other symbols of white supremacy in the U.S., protestors in Latin America have destroyed monuments to European colonizers who brutalized Indigenous populations. The most recent incident was the statue of Spanish conquistador Sebastián de Belalcázar who led a military campaign that killed and enslaved thousands of Misak Indigenous people. The statue, which was built on top of a sacred Misak religious, was torn down after two earlier attempts were foiled by local authorities.

Statues often get torn down during times of political upheaval in Latin America. Statues of previous unpopular political leaders are popular victims but oftentimes, representations of European explorers who first landed in the Americas are torn down and destroyed.

These activities are illegal, but many believe that the representation of conquistadors and European explorers like Christopher Columbus in streets and statues force indigenous groups to relive their condition as victims of colonialism and violence. Therefore, they believe these representations must be removed. As part of this movement, President Obrador has demanded a formal apology from the Vatican and the Spanish government for human rights abuses committed during the conquest. Spain flatly refused and Pope Francis had already asked Indigenous people for forgiveness in 2016 which failed to mollify President Obrador who was elected in 2018.

The movement in the U.S. to remove statues of Confederates and slaveholders has spurred further conversations in Latin America over whether the statues vindicate colonizers and racists. The statue of Belalcázar represents a larger conflict where the Misak and other Indigenous people argue that agribusiness has occupied their traditional territory. The toppling of the statue shows an escalation of this conflict. However, others say the statue represents a previous era and a part of history that cannot be erased. They recommend placing a monument to the Misak beside the statue rather than destroying it. 

Protests such as the destruction of statues like the Belalcázar statue pose the question of whether Indigenous people are gaining more representation and equality or whether this incident and others like it are simply a repeat of the trend of tearing down statues during times of civil unrest.