The controversy over the removal of dozens of works from the National Museum of Colombia (and what it says about De la Espriella's "culture war")

Image source, Courtesy of Santiago Bernal / La Silla Vacía Photo caption, La Silla Vacía visited the Museum and checked the works that were removed. Author, Author's name, BBC News Mundo Correspondent in Colombia Publication date 16 October 2026, 20:58 GMT Updated 10 minutes ago Reading time: 6 min At the National Museum of Colombia in Bogotá, one of the most important in the country and among the oldest in the Americas, there are now some empty walls. This Thursday, around 30 works alluding to LGBT and feminist movements, to victims of political violence, and to the Peace Agreement were removed from the institution. The museum has not yet confirmed the total number of pieces removed or the reasons. But this happened on the same day that President Abelardo de la Espriella visited the Ministry of Culture, which he said would be the epicenter of a "cultural counterrevolution." De la Espriella announced that he had instructed the Minister of Culture, Paola Holguín, "so that all that ode to terrorism in which Pizarro and other terrorists appear be removed from public places." By Pizarro he was referring to Carlos Pizarro Leongómez, a former commander of the left-wing M-19 guerrilla who was assassinated in 1990 while a presidential candidate during an escalation of political violence. The removal of the works from the National Museum has opened a new controversy in the country just over two months after De la Espriella came to power. The Colombian president has dominated headlines in recent weeks for his security campaign in which he has shown images of bags with corpses, for the loosening of some gun control measures, and now for taking a further step in his conservative agenda, openly "anti-woke," anti-communist, and promoter of religious values. Skip Most read and continue reading Most read End of Most read Image source, Getty Images Photo caption, The National Museum of Colombia houses one of the country's most important heritage collections. Which works were removed According to Colombian media such as El Tiempo or La Silla Vacía, pieces related to women's rights and LGBT issues would have been removed, such as: A gay pride flag that belonged to activist Elizabeth Castillo A piece with lesbian allusions from the advertising campaign of a 2006 LGBT march A photograph by Humberto Rincón Perfetti of an LGBT march A print about women's reproductive rights from the Fundación Sí Mujer It is also reported that in another room, political pieces are missing, such as posters from the presidential campaigns of Bernardo Jaramillo Ossa, candidate of the left-wing Patriotic Union party, assassinated in 1990, and of Carlos Pizarro Leongómez. La Silla Vacía adds that objects linked to the signing of the 2016 Peace Agreement between the State and the Farc were taken down, as well as "almost all the photographs from the wall of diversity, dedicated to rethinking the country's cultural, social, and political diversity." Image source, Gabriel Aponte/Getty Images for Concordia Americas Summit Photo caption, The Minister of Culture, Paola Holguín, belongs to the conservative Democratic Center party of former president Álvaro Uribe. In a post on X, the Minister of Culture not only did not deny this information, but asserted that the museum's institutional vocation "does NOT consist of serving as an instrument of political indoctrination, a focal point for the dissemination of biased versions of our history." "Museology and the curation of the various spaces under the Ministry's charge are being evaluated and redesigned to fulfill the mission of safeguarding, researching, conserving, and disseminating the cultural, historical, and artistic heritage of the Nation, serving as spaces for memory, identity, and social transformation," Holguín added. De la Espriella's "cultural counterrevolution" Already during his presidential campaign, De la Espriella openly declared himself opposed to "wokeness" and in favor of conservative values. He has defended what he understands as the traditional family and placed the Christian religion and God at the center of his political discourse. But the controversy over the museum's works has surprised political scientists like Yann Basset, of the Universidad del Rosario, who considers that, based on the clues the new president had given about the cultural battle, it would not have such prominence on his agenda. "That battle was not as much a part of the campaign discourse as his promises of a hard line against crime and armed groups, or of cleaning up the economy," says Basset. During his address this Thursday, De la Espriella went further and accused "wokeness" of "transforming the moral, cultural, and social foundations of the West." "Wokeness denies the biological differences between men and women, falsifies history (...) it has moved gender ideology and identity readings into fields such as education, culture, and many areas of social life," said the president. Image source, Fernando Vergara / POOL / AFP via Getty Images Photo caption, De la Espriella has promoted a conservative and "anti-woke" agenda since his presidential campaign. He also said that the State had "the moral and political duty to prevent cultural spaces from being captured by social-communism." Laura Bonilla, of Colombia's Pares Foundation, predicts that the removal of works will occur in other institutions such as the National Library, in which "artistic expression will be limited to 'approved' expressions." "Although we will see what happens. Many lawsuits must already be in process since this is mutilating a part of the country's history in order to have an approved official history," she explains. Basset believes that this battle corresponds to "certain conservative sectors very well represented in this government and that it copies Donald Trump's way of doing politics, who has put those issues at the heart of the U.S. agenda." Conservative groups in the Colombian Congress and religious sectors, such as representatives of evangelical churches, supported De la Espriella's political project. Currently, a "pro-life" bloc in Congress, which includes several lawmakers aligned with this government, is proposing to open debates on modifying abortion rights or minors' access to gender medical treatments. The symbolism of the National Museum The National Museum of Colombia was created in 1823 and is one of the oldest in the Americas. It exhibits more than 2,000 historical, archaeological, and cultural works and objects. In 2024 it was visited by almost half a million people. On its website, the institution includes in its mission the promotion of "the recognition of diverse narratives, the appropriation and social management of knowledge," as well as fostering the construction of shared memories and meanings, contributing to collective care, human dignity, and cultural rights, toward an inclusive and plural future." The removal of the works generated expressions of rejection from opposition politicians and users on social media. María José Pizarro, daughter of Carlos Pizarro and congresswoman of the Historic Pact Party, said that "Abelardo de la Espriella's attempt to proscribe his memory, his figure (that of her father), is only making his legacy in Colombia even greater." Image source, Andres Rot/Getty Images Photo caption, De la Espriella's order came on the same day that thousands protested in Colombia against his government. "He is incapable of accepting opposition and that the people think freely and consciously," she added. Similarly, Ricardo Moreno Patiño, who was Deputy Minister of Education in Gustavo Petro's government, responded to the removal of the works by saying that "that is not curation but an impoverishment of culture." "The National Museum is precisely national in the sense of the cultural process that constitutes our history; it is the stage for a diverse, contradictory, and plural narrative. It is what we are, not what someone wants us to be," he added. Several social media users criticized the museum's decision, especially feminist and LGBT collectives and the political opposition, while other conservative accounts applauded the removal of the works. Download the new BBC World Service app. Choose BBC News Mundo and receive news alerts, documentaries, and analysis, all in one place. Important: the new app is not available in the United Kingdom or the United States. You can also follow us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, X, and on our WhatsApp channel. And don't forget to subscribe here to our newsletter to receive a special selection of our best content every Friday.