Indigenous woman statue to replace Columbus in Mexico

A statue of Christopher Columbus in the heart of Mexico City will be replaced by one of an indigenous woman, authorities said Monday, days before the country’s 200th independence anniversary. The figure of the navigator, which was removed from Reforma Avenue last year as protesters vowed to topple it, will be moved to “a safe, dignified” place, the National Institute of Anthropology and History said. It will be replaced by a sculpture of an indigenous Olmec woman, Mexico City mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said. “It is precisely indigenous women who have perhaps had the greatest burden in the history of Mexico and to whom the least recognition has been given,” she said. It also represents an act of “social justice,” Sheinbaum added, as well as recognition of 500 years of “indigenous resistance” since the Spanish conquest. Activists last year organised a protest called “We’re going to knock it down” for October 12 the date marking Columbus’ arrival in America.