Statue of Spanish conquistador reinstalled in central Lima

Last edited Sun Jan 19, 2025, 06:33 AM - Edit history (1)

8 hours ago

Aoife Walsh
BBC News



A statue of the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro has been reinstalled in the centre of Peru's capital Lima, more than 20 years after it was removed. The sculpture was unveiled during a ceremony marking the 490th anniversary of the city's founding.

Pizarro founded Lima in 1535 after defeating the Inca Empire and claiming their lands for the Spanish crown.

Indigenous leaders say he was a mass murderer who destroyed their culture, while those who supported the statue's return said Peru should not erase its history.

The monument, which shows Pizarro on horseback with his sword drawn, was created by the American sculptor Charles Rumsey and offered by his widow to commemorate the city's fourth centenary in 1935. In 2003, it was moved to a park next to train tracks outside the city centre following calls for its removal.

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"This is an offence, an offence to all the indigenous peoples of Peru, Latin America and the world," one person said.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y62p6dn8no

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Túpac Amaru said: “I’ll be back and there will be millions of us"

José Gabriel Condorcanqui was a Peruvian Indian revolutionary, a descendant of the last Inca ruler, with whom he was identified when he led the last Indian revolt against Spanish rule.



Túpac Amaru II. Public domain.

236 years ago last May, José Gabriel Condorcanqui – known as Túpac Amaru -, his wife, Commander Micaela Bastidas, Bartolina Sisa and other heroes were viciously murdered by the "civilized" Spaniards, eager to keep the American colonies under the rule of the Spanish Crown to plunder their riches.

The fight of Túpac Amaru and the brave Tupamarista women was a continental political struggle which shook the structures of colonialism in America. He advocated radical change in the economic, social and political structures, he sought liberation from the Spanish yoke, and gave his life for his ideals.

The fight of Túpac Amaru and the brave Tupamarista women was a continental political struggle which shook the structures of colonialism in America.

His sacrifice helped to change the framework of colonial domination and, eventually, the independence of Latin America. But not only this: his ideas live on with increasing vibrancy.

More:
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/democraciaabierta/t-pac-amaru-said-i-ll-be-back-and-there-will-be-millions-of/

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Inca people, before grotesque destruction by invaders whose ilk still control Peru's government. Horrendous history. At some point, the "ruling class" in its stolen, tortured land will have to lose, spectacularly. There must be justice, at long last.