Justice forces Espriella to return items about feminism and LGBTQIA+ rights to museum in Colombia

A judge in Bogotá ordered, on Wednesday night (28), that the government of President Abelardo de la Espriella return, within 48 hours, all works removed from the National Museum of Colombia. The decision is a setback for the offensive by the ultra-right leader, who had ordered the removal of around 30 pieces linked to sexual diversity, feminism and peace processes from the cultural institution.

There is an appeal. When justifying the withdrawal, the government argued that the museum should not "serve as an instrument of political indoctrination". The measure provoked protests, and criticism was not limited to the left and the cultural class.

According to the ruling, the items were removed “without proven curatorial justification”. The decision states that the measure "disregarded the constitutional protection of cultural expressions and unjustifiably restricted the right of the plaintiffs to know and appreciate them."

The action was presented to the Court by cultural groups and opposition politicians, who classified the government's decision as censorship. According to the lawsuit, the removal of the works "violates the right to equality and the prohibition of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity."

The court had already imposed measures to protect the pieces removed while the case was analyzed. The recent ruling, in turn, does not require the permanent exhibition of the works or prevent changes to the exhibitions. The objective, according to the text, is to ensure that decisions about the collection comply with technical criteria, and not exclusively due to the authorities' disagreement with the ideas or events represented.

One of the authors of the case, deputy Gabriel Becerra, stated that the decision represents "a victory for the victims, diversity, peace and historical memory." "No government owns our history," he wrote in a post on X.

Without directly mentioning the museum, Espriella stated a few days ago that the "State has a moral duty" to "prevent cultural spaces from being captured by atheist social-communism and the enemy of values."

The removal of the pieces transformed the museum, the oldest in the country and one of the main spaces of Colombian historical memory, into a stage for political dispute. Espriella took office in August, with a hard-line speech, promises to combat organized crime and defend conservative ideals.

Espriella's offensive is part of a trend of ultraliberal and conservative governments that promote an idea of ​​cultural war against the left and seek to review the way museums and public institutions present episodes of national history.

In the United States, Donald Trump has led a dispute with the Smithsonian Institute, which manages institutions such as the National Museum of American History and the National Museum of African American History and Culture. In Argentina, Javier Milei promoted dismissals in human rights bodies under the accusation that they had been appropriated by the left.