Mexico City to swap Columbus statue for one of an indigenous woman
The statue was removed last year after indigenous rights activists threatened to tear it down. Claudia Sheinbaum said it would be replaced by a replica of a pre-Columbian statue known as the Young Woman of Amajac. Protesters have toppled Columbus statues in Latin America and the US.
Columbus, an Italian-born explorer who was financed by the Spanish crown to set sail on voyages of exploration in the late 15th Century, is seen by many as a symbol of oppression and colonialism as his arrival in America opened the door to the Spanish conquest.
Ms Sheinbaum's latest announcement was made on 12 October - the anniversary of Columbus' discovery of the Americas.
In the US, it is widely celebrated as Columbus Day. But in Mexico and other Latin American countries, it is known as Día de la Raza (Spanish: Day of the Race). Many view it as a commemoration of native resistance against European conquest. Ms Sheinbaum said she wanted to make the change as part of the "decolonisation" of the famous Reforma Avenue, where an empty plinth currently stands.
She added that the new monument - set to be three times as tall as the Columbus statue - was in recognition that "indigenous women had been the most persecuted" during and after the colonial period. The original Young Woman of Amajac was discovered in January in Veracruz.
It is believed that the sculpture depicts a leading female member of the Huastec people at the time of its creation. The original currently sits in Mexico City's Anthropology Museum, which is going to create the replica.
Several proposals were put forward after the city government removed the Columbus statue from its plinth, including a sculpture inspired by a pre-Hispanic Olmec head.
However, it was derided as a token gesture for its lack of authenticity, prompting Ms Sheinbaum to cancel it and opt instead for the Young Woman of Amajac. The statue of Christopher Columbus will be moved to a park in another area of Mexico City.
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