Glorieta De Las Mujeres Que Luchan

The is an anti-monument () along Paseo de la Reforma Avenue, in Mexico City. On the afternoon of 25 September 2021, a group of anonymous feminists intervened at the Christopher Columbus roundabout. On an empty plinth surrounded by protective fences, they installed a wooden guerrilla-style sculpture demanding justice for the recurrent acts of violence against women in Mexico. Originally named (), the piece later became known simply as ''Justicia''. It depicts a purple woman holding her left arm raised and the Spanish word for ''justice'' carved into a support at the back. The roundabout itself was also symbolically renamed (Roundabout of the Women Who Fight).

The traffic circle formerly honored Columbus with a statue sculpted by French artist Charles Cordier, installed in 1887. Ahead of a 2020 anti-Columbus Day protest, Mexico City's administration, led by its head of government Claudia Sheinbaum, removed the statue from its pedestal citing restoration as the reason. Months later, Sheinbaum announced that the statue would not be returned to its original site. Instead, following a petition signed by 5,000 Indigenous women calling for the decolonization of the avenue, a new monument would be erected in their honor. The proposed project, named '' Tlalli'', was to be a sculpture inspired by Olmec colossal heads, created by a non-Indigenous male artist. Since all Olmec heads depict men, and the artist was not Indigenous, feminists criticized the proposal as inappropriate for honoring Indigenous women. Days later, they installed ''Justicia'' on the plinth.

The sculpture was not initially intended to be a permanent installation; according to the feminists who placed it, the city could choose a different art design as long as it renamed the traffic circle with their proposed name. Since its placement, feminists have organized cultural events at the roundabout to honor women they describe as fighters, as well as men who support them. Many of their names have been written or memorialized on the protective fences surrounding the plinth. Activists also installed a clothesline to denounce injustices committed by authorities and society, and later replaced the original wooden sculpture with a steel version.

Sheinbaum, for her part, replaced the ''Tlalli'' project and stated that the government of the city intended to officially replace the Monument to Columbus with a replica of '' The Young Woman of Amajac'', a pre-Hispanic Huastec sculpture depicting an Indigenous woman. The anti-monument would be relocated elsewhere, an action feminists opposed unless their demands were met. After months of debate, in February 2023, Sheinbaum declared that both ''Justicia'' and ''The Young Woman of Amajac'' would coexist in the same traffic circle, while the Columbus sculpture would be relocated to the National Museum of the Viceroyalty, in Tepotzotlán, State of Mexico. To prevent further conflicts, Sheinbaum's interim successor, Martí Batres, installed the replica on an adjacent traffic island.

Background

The statue of Christopher Columbus on Paseo de la Reforma, one of two Mexico City monuments dedicated to Christopher Columbus, was removed on 10 October 2020, just two days before a planned protest aimed at toppling it on Columbus Day According to the government of the city, it was removed as part of a series of restorations performed by the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH). The head of government Claudia Sheinbaum announced that public consultations regarding the monument's future would be held in 2021. However, these discussions did not take place, and the city ultimately decided to replace the Columbus statue with '' Tlalli'', a large female head sculpture by Pedro Reyes. Inspired by the male Olmec colossal heads, the project aimed to honor 500 years of Indigenous women's resistance in Mexico. The city government stated that the removal followed a petition signed by 5,000 Indigenous women calling for the "decolonization of Paseo de la Reforma".

''Tlalli'' sparked several controversies, including the selection of Reyes, a mestizo man, to represent Mexican Indigenous women, as well as its design and name. Academics such as the researcher Lucía Melgar and Mixe writer voiced objections. Melgar argued that the project exemplified how women, particularly Indigenous women, are often portrayed as "generic, mute and immobilized". Aguilar questioned the use of a Nahuatl word ( means ''land'' or ''earth'') to name a project inspired on the Olmec culture, which spoke Mixe–Zoque. In response to the backlash, Sheinbaum postponed the installation and announced that a committee would handle the proposal.

History

Installation and description

On the afternoon of 25 September 2021, a group of feminists crossed the protective fences surrounding the monument and installed a wooden on the empty plinth. It depicted a tall purple woman with her left fist raised. They secured it to the pedestal using multiple ropes and pre-existing steel staples embedded in cement. The installers referred to the sculpture by various names: the (''Anti-monument We Want Us Alive''), (''Justice''), or (''The Girl''). They symbolically renamed the traffic circle as the (Roundabout of Women Who Fight).

The installation occurred as a protest against the recurrent acts of violence against women in Mexico, a country that is commonly ranked among unequal and hostile countries for women, according to reports that include those of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Georgetown University's Women Peace and Security Index 2019/20, or the United Nations Development Programme's Gender Inequality Index. As stated by the authors, the project arose after the removal of the statue of Columbus but remained in the planning stages until the announcement of ''Tlalli''. The decision to move forward with the installation was made after observing what they described as a series of missteps by the authorities. Throughout those months, various women's organizations clandestinely planned the placement of the artwork, inviting victims and human rights advocates to participate.

During the installation, the feminists called for the creation of an artistic committee composed of Indigenous women to select a replacement sculpture by consensus. They emphasized that they did not want to impose their choice of a statue, saying, "You decide the figure, we have renamed the roundabout". They further explained that their representation was created to honor of all the women who have fought for justice throughout the nation, that is, from "the brave women of independence up to the present day and also those who were killed fighting for justice". Additionally, while a group installed the ''Justicia'' sculpture, another one painted the names of murdered and disappeared women on the protective fences, like that of Marisela Escobedo Ortiz, who was killed while protesting the murder of her daughter. Some names include those of living women who, they say, have resisted injustice. In preparation for the memorial, research was conducted on Indigenous women, mothers of femicide victims, historical figures, defenders of water, land, and life, as well as women journalists.

The city government covered the names with paint just hours later. Sheinbaum said it was a routine action, as cleanup crews are authorized to carry out maintenance work after demonstrations in the city. A group of feminists returned the following day, the seventh anniversary of the Iguala mass kidnapping, and repainted the names, adding the phrase, "You will not erase us", in Spanish. During an abortion rights demonstration on 3 October 2021, the names were restored once again after being covered up during the week. In addition to women, the names of men who have fought for women's rights or who have been murdered or disappeared while seeking justice were also included.

Events after its installation

On 25 November 2021, the date commemorating the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, feminists installed complaints clotheslines – inspired by ', an installation art project by Mónica Mayer – where they clothespinned the names of public officials and of institutions that they considered had not followed up on their complaints or had ignored or minimized them. They also sang a protest song there. The next day, male police officers broke the clotheslines and attempted to remove the protective fences bearing the written names; when they noticed that groups of women were filming them, they repositioned them. On 31 October, a Day of the Dead altar was set up on the main path of the roundabout, where feminists wrote: "México Feminicida" (Mexico Femicidal). They also placed cempasúchil flowers and '' papel picado'' sheets with the phrase "Fue el estado" (It was the state) cut into them.

Feminists replaced the original artwork on 5 March 2022 with a steel monument that is tall in anticipation for International Women's Day demonstrations on the following 8 March. Also, the Garden of Memory () was set up, featuring another clothesline with 300 complaints and whose intention is "bearing the names of historical women ..who teach us every day with their struggles that dignity has to be customary".

Human rights groups unofficially renamed the Glorieta de Colón and Hamburgo stations of the Mexico City Metrobús as the "Glorieta de las Mujeres Que Luchan" and "Glorieta de las y los Desaparecidos" stations, respectively, on 24 July 2022. The latter was done in honor of the nearby anti-monument of the same name. The signage maintained the style used by the system and the pictograms of the stations were replaced with their protest symbols. The actions are part of the symbolic renaming of Paseo de la Reforma to the (Route of Memory), in reference to the various anti-monument memorials located on the avenue. A number of events were held at the roundabout on the first anniversary of the ''Justicia'' installation, including the installation of a pink cross, the hanging of photos of the missing and murdered, and a dance and song performance. In reiterating their stance on the proposed relocation, the collectives said that the location "not only has to do with the issue of femicide and disappearance but also the various struggles that women have in the country, namely, the indigenous mothers, the struggle for the defense of land rwater".

Attempted removal

On 12 October 2021, the city government announced that it intended to replace the monument to Columbus with a replica of '' The Young Woman of Amajac''. Three days later, feminist groups urged the authorities to not remove the piece unless the roundabout is formally renamed the . They also criticized that the proposed artwork is believed to have been a young elite woman or a ruler. The mother of a murdered teenager said that any alteration would be "an act of direct aggression to the demands of justice". Sheinbaum stated in June 2022 that the replica of ''The Young Woman of Amajac'' was almost complete and that she was in talks with feminist collectives to reach an agreement on the relocation of the main sculpture. In response, feminist groups stated that no such talks had taken place as of August 2022 and claimed that the government was only interested in advancing its political agenda, adding that "the state wants to hide the fact that 11 to 13 women are murdered each day ndthat more than 30 people disappear each day".

City officials met with representatives of various human rights groups in November 2022 to reach a consensus on the future of the traffic circle. Ricardo Ruiz, Undersecretary of Government, assured that although the requests of the groups are respected, there cannot be an imposition by any party and that the space must be public. Ingrid Gómez Saracíbar, Secretary of Women, proposed a common agreement to generate a space for coexistence. Argelia Betanzos, a Mazatec lawyer, commented that the government does not believe that there is a coexistence but in relation to the statues, as she felt that there is already a coexistence of Indigenous women in the . She added that ''The Young Woman of Amajac'' does not arise from the wishes of Indigenous women but rather from an electoral intention on the part of Sheinbaum's team and requested that, before seeking to place a symbol in the name of Indigenous people, they should first apologize for the crimes committed against Indigenous peoples by the country's governments. At the event, a letter written by Otomi women was read, requesting that—instead of replacing the anti-monument in Reforma—the city government replace another statue honoring Columbus in the city ( Manuel Vilar, 1892) with the sculpture of ''The Young Woman of Amajac'', as they considered that Paseo de la Reforma had already been decolonized.

Following months of discussion, in February 2023, Sheinbaum announced that both ''Justicia'' and ''The Young Woman of Amajac'' would coexist in the traffic circle, while the Columbus sculpture would be relocated to the National Museum of the Viceroyalty, in Tepotzotlán, State of Mexico. About it, Sheinbaum added, "We do it because we women have been silenced for a long time ..And those who have been silenced the most are the Indigenous women". Days later, during a speech in Morelia, Michoacán, Sheinbaum said that there were "deeply racist and classist" women who opposed the installation of ''The Young Woman of Amajac''. The following day, when confronted by feminists and human rights groups, Sheinbaum said that she was not referring to these groups in that context.

On 7 March 2023, dozens of collective groups published through Amnesty International an open letter addressed to Sheinbaum. In it, the collectives mentioned that they "were very concerned that the Mexico City government does not recognize the value of the social mobilization of thousands of women ..who have been and are fundamental for the human rights of all women to be recognized, guaranteed, protected, promoted and respected". The document concludes with four requests: to recognize the contributions of women in the recent history of the country, to respect the placement of ''Justicia'' and the , to officially rename the roundabout as , and to listen and attend the requests for justice to guarantee the right to live with dignity.

After the resignation of Sheinbaum, Martí Batres, her interim successor, accepted to relocate the project of ''The Young Woman of Amajac'' to an adjacent traffic island.

Reception

Author Sabrina Melenotte noted that the installation roughly "links art, memory and public space" and raises questions on "the role and the legitimate place of artistic and social expressions that serve as monuments". David Pérez wrote for ''Milenio'' that the set of protest acts located in the serve to reflect on the recurring episodes of violence and that it serves as a medium that highlights the meaning that is given to the use of memory in response to violence. Carmen Contreras, consultant in gendered urban development, mentioned that the installation follows the line of interventions in the urban space that show that the actions of public institutions do not work and that a change is required to avoid discrimination among citizens in order to achieve justice.

Diana Murrieta, founder of the feminist group Nosotras Para Ellas, wrote in an opinion column in the ''El Heraldo de México'' newspaper that the appropriation of public spaces is important to let the women of the country know that equality is achievable as long as actions are performed collectively. Ayahuitl Estrada, founder of the feminist collective Restauradoras con Glitter, said that with such acts feminist women are "changing the discourse imposed by the state of what the representation of vulnerable women should be". In her column for Voces México, art critic Avelina Lésper commented negatively on the artwork and its installation, saying that such actions harm feminism, which society calls unjustified, radical and violent, and asked feminists not to speak for all women because she interprets the appropriation as an act of "ideological, populist arrogance, supported by the propaganda of ocialnetworks". Regarding the ''Vivas Nos Queremos'' anti-monument, she called it an "aesthetic eyesore" that denigrates women in history and demeans them to a symbol similar to the pictogram indicating the women's restroom.

Regarding comments on the government and its position on the anti-monument, Fausta Gantús from the opined that Sheinbaum avoids recognizing the and instead supports an "officialist feminism", endorsed by the female governors from her political party, the National Regeneration Movement. According to Gantús, this posture only seeks to support the president of Mexico and former leader of their party, Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Scholar Lucía Melgar commented that if Sheinbaum would stop "wallowing in imaginary achievements, repeating empty speeches, and inventing a courtly 'people'" she could learn to respect the space that feminists chose to protest against violence. In her opinion column in SDP Noticias, Claudia Santillana Rivera recommended that Sheinbaum pay attention to the installation because women would not necessarily vote for her in the 2024 Mexican general election, especially if she does not show interest in resolving the problems experienced by women in the nation.

Gallery

File:Glorieta de las mujeres que luchan 3.jpg, A close-up of the wooden ''antimonumenta'', with details of how she was tied up. The word ("Justice") is written on the support., alt=The sculpture from behind.
File:Glorieta de las mujeres que luchan en el Paseo de la Reforma 11.jpg, The protective fences that have dozens of names written on them, alt=Refer to caption.
File:Vista de la Glorieta de las mujeres que luchan.jpg, The gardens of the traffic circle have several exhibitions on the situation of women in the country (''Jardín de la Memoria''; ''right'') and also clotheslines for public denouncements of acts of violence (''left'')., alt=Photograph of the traffic circle in the distance.
File:La joven de Amajac y glorieta de las mujeres que luchan.jpg, ''Justicia'' and ''The Young Woman of Amajac'' placed on their respective pedestals as of 2023., alt=Refer to caption.

See also

* 2021 in art
* ''Antimonumenta'' (Mexico City), another feminist work in the city
* Feminist art

References

Further reading

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External links

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2021 establishments in Mexico
2021 in Mexico
2021 sculptures
Anti-monuments in Mexico
Feminist art
Monuments and memorials in Mexico City
Monuments and memorials to women
Outdoor sculptures in Mexico City
Paseo de la Reforma
Roundabouts and traffic circles in Mexico
Sculptures of women in Mexico City
Statues in Mexico City
Steel sculptures in Mexico
Women in Mexico City
Wooden sculptures