Colombian president purges National Museum of works promoting ‘communism’

Far-right President Abelardo de la Espriella says he will wage a ‘counterrevolution’ against cultural institutions. Save Share Colombian PresidentAbelardo de la Espriellahas announced he is spearheading a cultural “counterrevolution” that includes removing dozens of exhibits from the National Museum, drawing protests and comparisons to United States President Donald Trump. De la Espriella, a conservativeTrump ally, said last week that he wants to prevent cultural institutions from being taken over by what he calls “atheist social communism”. Since then, exhibits have been taken down that once addressed the history of social movements, including feminist and LGBTQ+ activism, and Colombia’s political violence. The changes have sparked protests by civil rights groups, artists and students who have accused the government of censorship and warn that important parts of the country’s history could be erased. Dozens of demonstrators gathered on Wednesday outside the National Museum in downtown Bogota as riot police guarded its entrance. “I find it outrageous that they want to erase part of our history,” said Azul Riascos, a history student. He said the government was promoting a vision of Colombia as exclusively white, Catholic and Spanish-speaking. That image, he explained, excluded Black, Indigenous and LGBTQ+ communities. Gimena Sanchez-Garzoli, director for the Andes at the Washington Office on Latin America, a research and advocacy organisation, said the Colombian government’s approach reflects a broader trend among Trump allies who are copying US political narratives and strategies. Trump has been fiercely critical of museums in Washington, particularly those tied to theSmithsonian Institution. The White House released a report in July branding leaders of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History as radical activists and has ordered signs to be installed outside the museum telling visitors that some of the exhibits are inaccurate. Nearly three months after that order, such signs haven’t been installed. The museum’s director, Anthea Hartig, told Congress that the White House report “does not fairly or accurately characterise the full body of work at the museum”. Sanchez-Garzoli said Trump’s cooperation with allied Latin American governments onsecurity and counternarcoticsefforts also has an ideological dimension....