spaces . Each and every one of these monuments is a document of the political decisions concerning which past was worthy of celebration . The language , the religion , and the “ Spanish race ” were evoked in order to ramp up the construction of the national state . Latin American rulers encouraged nationalism by means of Hispanicity , and the heroes were brought to the stage with greater intensity , summoned up to integrate the different regions into the nation , to reaffirm the power of the elites , and to exclude those who were unwanted . Historical figures who had been given no recognition during their lifetime , who had often been controversial , polemic ( some of them banished ), would be honoured and deemed heroes between 50 and 400 years after their death . In this regard , such posthumous honours may also express anachronism , that is , a lack of correspondence between what those historical figures actually meant during their lifetime and their subsequent celebration .
The revolt against the statues seeks to bring to light other historical narratives ; it also aims to tell the story of such concealments . Toppling , substituting , and damaging the monuments that honour colonial symbols calls into question the founding narrative of the white , male , heroic and victorious nations against the barbarism , the backwardness , the underdevelopment . This contention with colonial figures demands visibility , in the public space , for those identities that have been consigned to oblivion , and those memories that have been erased and vanquished . Attacks on statues are not a novelty in Latin America , particularly on those monuments related to the conquest and the colonisation process . In 1992 , upon the 500 th anniversary of Christopher Columbus ’ arrival in America , the Latin American and Spanish rulers named the celebration “ A meeting between two worlds and two cultures ”, a title that caused an uproar among some Latin American intellectuals and protests from the indigenous peoples . Several monuments honouring colonial historical figures became the target of popular anger ; for example , the statue of Spanish conquistador Diego de Mazariegos , who founded the colonial cities of San Cristóbal de las Casas and Chiapa de Corzo , in Chiapas ( Mexico ), was hammered down on 12 October 1992 , before a crowd of 15 thousand people who had gathered to protest against the quincentenary celebrations that had been proposed to the American countries by Spain . On the same date , the Social Organisations Front from Chiapas ( FOSCH ) was created , uniting the associations of peasants and indigenous peoples .
Latin America , then governed by neoliberal politicians , saw the emergence of massive protests from the indigenous peoples , who had long been repressed and passive . Some native populations – who had bravely resisted slavery , annihilation , genocide , land expropriation and the destruction of their culture – erupted onto the Latin American political scene . In this part of the world , 500 indigenous languages are still spoken – a third of which are endangered . There are also more than 800 indigenous peoples , with a population of close to 45 million people , all of which are characterised by demographic , cultural , social and political diversity — from peoples who have chosen voluntary isolation to those who live in the great urban centres . Indigenous associations have been created and have spoken out in the political arena , such as the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador ( CONAIE ) in Ecuador ( 1986 ); political parties such as the Pachakutik Plurinational Unity Movement – Nuevo País ( 1995 ), also in Ecuador ; the political movement Winaq ( 2007 ) in Guatemala ; and the Alternative Indigenous and Social Movement ( MAIS ) in Colombia ; as well as an indigenous army that demands recognition : the Zapatista Army of National Liberation ( EZLN , 1983 ). A number of experiences recognising autonomy and plurinationality have sprung from the struggle of indigenous peoples , allowing them to establish practices related to their cosmovision , the indigenous territories and their natural resources , their socio-political organisation , the administration of justice , education , languages , healthcare , medicine and the culture of the indigenous peoples . Among these are unprecedented constitutional experiences , such as that of Oaxaca in Mexico , autonomous indigenous regions in Nicaragua , autonomous indigenous territories in
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Observing Memories Issue 6