International • • • 🌿 Progressive

Sala del Museo Nacional de Colombia con pedestales vacíos y un muro en blanco, frente a una multitud con velas en la entrada del museo al anochecer.
Imagen alusiva al Museo Nacional de Colombia y a la disputa por la memoria de Carlos Pizarro. · Erick Prometeo Media

Pizarro holds Abelardo responsible for her family's safety

Former senator María José Pizarro held President Abelardo De La Espriella responsible for any event affecting her family, after the president's statements…

--- The context --- The memory of Carlos Pizarro, the M-19 commander assassinated on April 26, 1990 during his presidential candidacy for the Democratic Alliance, returned to the center of Colombia's political dispute. His daughter, former senator María José Pizarro of the Historic Pact, answered President Abelardo De La Espriella's statements against her father in a video. --- The facts --- De La Espriella said that the art manifestations backing Carlos Pizarro are an ode to terrorism. The former senator held him responsible for any event that might affect her family and criticised what she described as an attempt to eliminate her father's figure from public memory. In the video she argued that the debate goes beyond her family history and would represent a threat against leftist ideology. She said Carlos Pizarro is more alive than ever and that the attempt to proscribe his memory only makes his legacy of peace in Colombia greater. The publication closed with a direct warning: she held the president responsible for anything that might happen. She also announced that the film Pizarro, directed by Simón Hernández, will circulate openly again on her YouTube channel, and she called on followers to organise screenings. --- The positions --- Pizarro linked her denunciations to the mobilisations registered in the country and accused the president of fearing the mobilised people and of not accepting criticism or opposition. She added that they will not allow the memory and the thought of the left to be persecuted in Colombia. She also questioned the modification of National Museum content by government order, in her account without technical curatorship, in exhibitions meant to contribute to peace and reconciliation. She said the threat is not only against her father's figure and memory, but also against his whole family. The presidential message was recorded during his first official visit to the Ministry of Culture and Heritage, on October 15, 2026. De La Espriella said terrorism will not be allowed to be promoted, announced instructions to the minister for that ode to terrorism to disappear from public places, and stated that he does not accept apology for terrorism. --- What remains unknown --- The source does not record a government response to the warning about the Pizarro family's safety, nor does it specify which National Museum contents will be modified or under what procedure. --- Unanswered questions --- Will the government respond to Pizarro's warning about her family's safety? Which National Museum contents will the Ministry of Culture withdraw and under what technical criteria? Will the film Pizarro circulate again on the channel the former senator announced? --- EPM analysis --- The clash sets two readings of memory against each other: for Pizarro, withdrawing references to her father proscribes a legacy of peace and persecutes leftist thought; for De La Espriella, keeping them in public places is apology for terrorism. Between the two stands the National Museum and its exhibitions. 📌 EPM Take: In EPM's view, the gravest line in this exchange is not the dispute over a museum, but Pizarro's warning: holding the president responsible for anything that happens to her family raises the tone to a terrain where the government should answer with verifiable protection guarantees, not silence. At the same time, the presidential order to withdraw content would gain legitimacy if the Ministry published an inventory of what is withdrawn and the criteria applied, piece by piece, before the country.
📤 Share on Telegram

¿Te gustó este artículo? Recibe cobertura global en tu correo.

Suscríbete gratis / Subscribe free