A statue of Christopher Columbus in Mexico City will be replaced by one of an Indigenous woman

(CNN)A statue of Christopher Columbus that was removed past twelvemonth from its presumption on Mexico City's main thoroughfare won't beryllium returned to its erstwhile spot, metropolis officials said.

Instead, it volition beryllium replaced by a statue of an Indigenous pistillate to admit the contributions of Mexico's autochthonal peoples, Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said.

Sheinbaum, who made the announcement connected Sunday, the Day of the Indigenous Woman, said the Italian colonizer's bequest is seen done "two visions": One that is Euro-Centric, and different that recognizes that civilizations existed successful the Americas agelong earlier Columbus arrived.

"We beryllium it to them and we beryllium due to the fact that of them," Sheinbaum said of Mexico's Indigenous peoples. "It is the past of our state and our homeland."

The bronze Columbus statue was featured prominently connected Paseo de la Reforma, Mexico City's main avenue since the precocious 19th century. In October 2020, officials removed the statue from its pedestal for a scheduled restoration -- but they were considering the bequest of the antheral it remembered, metropolis officials said, arsenic Al Jazeera reported astatine the time.

Sheinbaum and Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador some indicated astatine the clip that the Columbus statue was removed to forestall protesters from vandalizing it, according to Al Jazeera. The statue had previously been damaged successful protests successful 1992, the 500th day of Columbus' accomplishment successful the Americas.

In spot of Columbus Day, Mexico observes Dia de la Raza connected October 12, a vacation that recognizes "the mixed Indigenous and European practice of Mexico," according to Encyclopedia Britannica.

To grant those pre-Columbus civilizations, sculptor Pedro Reyes volition make a statue of an Olmec woman. The Olmec radical are thought to beryllium 1 of the archetypal large civilizations of what would go Mexico.

"It's precise important to dedicate a monument to indigenous women and to the Earth, due to the fact that if anyone tin thatch america however to instrumentality attraction of this planet, it's our autochthonal peoples, and that is precisely what we indispensable larn again," Reyes said successful a statement, according to Mexican paper El Universal.

The Columbus statue volition beryllium moved to Parque América, a parkland successful Mexico City's Polanco neighborhood, El Universal reported.

CNN's Nicole Chavez contributed to this report.