Pizarro: The ‘conquistador’ that still divides a city 490 years on
By Javier Lizarzaburu • February 4, 2025
On January 18, Lima celebrated 490 years since its Spanish foundation, an anniversary that coincides with a dynamic phase of restoration in the historic centre. Yet, beneath the festivities lies a troubling reality. The city’s new right-wing administration has reintroduced the contested equestrian statue of its founder, Francisco Pizarro, to a prominent location – a visible sign that colonial narratives are being reimposed in a country where the colonial wound has not healed.
A global reckoning with colonial legacies
Across the globe, many cities continue to confront the legacies of colonialism. From the removal of Confederate monuments in the U.S. to protests against statues of Spanish conquistadors in Bogotá and Santiago de Chile, the controversy over public symbols of colonial history is widespread. Lima, with its 490-year history, offers a compelling case study of how the past continues to shape the present.
A city torn between two histories
The decision to bring back the conquistador´s statue underscores age-old tensions between Lima’s Hispanic and Indigenous identities. The official narratives never mentioned the fact that vibrant civilisations thrived in what is now the Peruvian capital for over 4000 years until the city´s Spanish foundation in 1535. Lima then became the capital of Spanish South America for nearly 300 years.
Two key events in the early 20th century, illustrate well the evolution of these historic tensions: the monuments to Manco Capac, the first Inca emperor, and Francisco Pizarro, who also led the conquest and destruction of the Inca Empire.
The unwanted Inca
In 1921, as Peru prepared to celebrate its first centenary of independence, the Japanese community gifted a monumental statue of Manco Capac as a tribute to the country’s ancient cultures. However, Lima’s white elites were not ready to accept it. ‘Too indigenous’ was the implicit message that emerged from heated debates in the local press (1). Dora Mayer, a celebrated journalist at the time, wrote: ‘If Lima cannot have a statue of an Inca, it cannot be the capital of Peru’ (2).
After delays and controversy, the statue was finally inaugurated in 1926, only to be moved shortly after to the new working-class district of La Victoria. The statue remains there, towering at 11 metres with a six-metre stone base, with the Inca’s right hand seemingly pointing towards the main square, 2.5 km away. This relocation mirrored a societal bias, relegating Indigenous contributions to the margins and preserving the city´s Eurocentric image.
The glorified conquistador
Just a decade later, another monument ignited fresh debate. In January 1935, to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Lima’s Spanish foundation, an equestrian statue of Francisco Pizarro was unveiled in the city’s most prominent location: the atrium of the cathedral in the main square. Depicted in military uniform and brandishing a sword, Pizarro looks ready to conquer the land once again. In his inaugural speech, the mayor Luis Gallo Porras, hailed Pizarro as a ‘hero and civiliser’ (3).
However, growing animosity over Pizarro’s role in the demise of the Incas led to the statue being relocated twice over the next 90 years. Most recently, it had been placed discreetly in a municipal park behind the Government Palace, stripped of its imposing pedestal.
The pendulum swings back
Fast forward to January 2025: the conquistador has returned. Pizarro’s statue now dominates a prominent passageway leading to the main square, mounted on a new oversized plinth. It replaces a stone that honoured the area’s last Indigenous leader, which has been moved a few metres forward. In fact, this reflects more than an aesthetic decision; it signals a deeper ideological shift in the city.
Policies implemented under the guise of heritage protection are reshaping the character of the historic centre, reinforcing a narrative that glorifies colonial dominance. Under its right-wing and ultra-Catholic mayor, the city has also restored other contested monuments, including those of Christopher Columbus and figures tied to the discredited 19th-century scientific racism movement.
One striking example is the ban on street protests in the area, silencing a space that has been a hub for political activism for over 200 years. Further compounding this erasure, the administration has rebranded Lima as the ´City of Kings´, its original colonial name.
Gerson Paredes, an Andean activist, was quick to denounce this as a provocation and demand that the monument be placed “in a less offensive place for Peruvians”. Many residents, however, welcome the overall changes. Urban renewal projects have stabilised historic colonial buildings, squares and churches, offering a vision of progress that feels tangible and reassuring. This revitalisation also enjoys unwavering support from the powerful mainstream and conservative media, further solidifying its appeal.
Ignoring Lima’s singularity
Lima’s administration sidelines an equally vital legacy by prioritising and restoring symbols of colonial dominance: its pre-colonial heritage. Remarkably, Lima is the only capital city in the Americas with an architectural continuity spanning over four millennia. It is also one of only nine capitals in the world with a similar legacy. More than 600 pre-colonial structures (huacas) have been catalogued across the metropolitan area, yet they receive minimal funding or attention. This neglect is not just a failure of governance but a missed opportunity to celebrate Lima’s uniqueness in the global narrative.
Who are we, anyway
With a population of around eleven million, Lima is predominantly made up of people of mixed race, with Indigenous, African and Asian descent. This demographic composition is deeply tied to the legacies of colonialism, shaping issues of race, identity and power in contemporary Lima. Over the years, numerous surveys have consistently highlighted racism as a pervasive issue here, often rooted in the country’s unresolved historical tensions (4).
In 2010, I launched the ‘Lima Milenaria’ campaign to raise awareness of the city’s pre-colonial legacy and offer a new, more inclusive founding narrative (5). A key achievement was the Mayor’s recognition of Lima as a Millennial City in 2012, in celebration of the city’s ancient pre-Hispanic past and as a tribute to the multicultural place it is today. However, this branding effort was short-lived, with subsequent administrations abandoning it and reverting to a predominantly colonial-republican narrative.
Towards an inclusive future
Building an inclusive city requires acknowledging that the wounds of conquest and colonisation remain unhealed. Lima, as the capital of a multicultural nation, must do more to address these unresolved issues. While Pizarro may symbolise progress for some, for many, he represents a history of discrimination, pain and profound loss – a legacy that continues to fracture Peruvians 490 years after the city’s Spanish foundation.
This moment, however, can be an opportunity for Lima to critically reassess its monuments and reflect on how its complex and rich history can inform a more inclusive future. The city’s pre-colonial heritage, spanning four millennia, offers a unique chance to redefine its contemporary identity with less triumphalism.
This process is not unique to Lima. It’s part of a broader global conversation about how we deal with colonial legacies. The questions Lima faces: What heritage are we preserving? Who is it for? And how can we avoid perpetuating the symbolic supremacy of one culture over another? These are questions that many cities around the world are grappling with as they come to terms with their own colonial pasts. Only by confronting the uncomfortable truths of history can any city move towards a more inclusive and reconciled future.
About the author
Javier Lizarzaburu is a heritage and communications specialist with experience in urban activism. His work explores themes of memory, narratives and decolonisation. He led two advocacy campaigns in Lima to reclaim the city’s pre-colonial indigenous memory and authored a book on its irrigation canals. Javier holds a Master’s degree in Heritage and Spatial Planning from the Vrije University Amsterdam (2022) and is currently based in the Netherlands.
Notes
(1) Hamann, 2015; Ramon, 2014
(2) El Comercio, 7 October 1925, as cited by Ramon, p.85
(3) La Prensa, 19 January 1935, as cited in Varon Gabai, p.14
(4) https://www.ipsos.com/es-pe/news-and-polls/overview
https://alertacontraelracismo.pe/i-encuesta-nacional
(5) https://limamilenaria.blogspot.com/2020/01/lima-milenaria-ten-years-on-farewell.html
References
Gabai, R. V. (2006). Estatua de Francisco Pizarro en Lima. Historia e identidad nacional. Revista de Indias, 66(236), 217-236. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3989/revindias.2006.i236.367
Hamann, J. (2015). Leguía, el Centenario y sus monumentos: Lima: 1919-1930. Fondo Editorial-PUCP.
Ramón Joffré, G. (2014). Neoperuano. Arqueología, etilo nacional y paisaje urbano en Lima, 1910-1940. Municipalidad de Lima/Sequilao.
Images
Martintoy, “Estatua de Paseo Colon, Lima, Peru.” Wikimedia Commons, November 13, 2009. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Statue_of_Christopher_Columbus_in_Lima#/media/File:Paseo_colon.jpg
PsamatheM, “File:Huaca Pucllana-nX-29.jpg.” Wikimedia Commons, February 11, 2019. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Huaca_Pucllana-nX-29.jpg
Anonymous. “File:Pizarro statue Lima.jpg,” Wikimedia Commons, November 2020. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pizarro_statue_Lima.jpg
Ciudades, “File:Monumento a Manco Capac en Lima.jpg,” Wikimedia Commons, June 2, 2022. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Monumento_a_Manco_Capac_en_Lima.jpg
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