Protests outside Colombia’s National Museum in Bogota continued throughout the weekend in opposition to the removal of more than 30 items related to the struggles of the LGBTQ+ movement, feminism, and the political left.
The decision by Abelardo de la Espriella’s government, announced last Friday, turned the area around the museum into a site of public demonstrations against what protesters describe as “an attempt to impose an ideological view of the country’s history.”
Saturday and Sunday’s demonstrations were marked by anti-censorship slogans, artistic interventions, and several tense moments that forced police to intervene and disperse participants.
The use of water cannons and other riot-control equipment escalated the confrontation, shifting the debate from the museum’s galleries to the streets of the Colombian capital. The protests reflected growing opposition among cultural and social groups to the new government’s so-called “culture war.”
Protests outside Colombia’s National Museum over De la Espriella’s ‘culture war’
The demonstrations began Saturday as protesters gathered outside the National Museum to oppose the removal of the exhibits. Carrying signs and chanting slogans in defense of historical memory, participants challenged the government’s decision and demanded that the items be returned to the galleries.
The protest also featured symbolic gestures. Some participants placed reproductions of the removed works outside the museum, bringing them back into the public space and denouncing their disappearance from the exhibitions as an attempt to silence the stories they represented.
The affected materials included objects and documents related to feminist and LGBTQ+ causes, the history of Colombia’s political left, and the 2016 peace agreement with the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). For protesters, the removal was not simply an administrative decision about a museum’s content but a political intervention in how the country’s past is presented.
The gathering brought together people from the cultural sector and members of the public who came to express their opposition to the measure. The museum thus became a meeting point for those who believe that diverse historical experiences must remain represented in public institutions.
¿Qué instrumentalización de la niñez? Visión retrógrada. Educamos a nuestras hijas e hijos en el respeto, a si mismos, a las mujeres y a todas las personas, sin importar su orientación sexual o identidad de género. Para que conozcan su historia y de adultos no sean como usted.
— María José Pizarro Rodríguez (@PizarroMariaJo) October 19, 2026
Seventh Avenue blockade and clashes with police
The most tense moment on Saturday came at around 6:30 p.m., when a police water cannon truck began spraying protesters to disperse those blocking Seventh Avenue. Over the following half hour, the situation deteriorated as riot police were deployed, stun grenades could be heard, and some demonstrators threw rocks at officers.
The intervention escalated into clashes between civilians and police. By around 7:30 p.m., authorities had restored public order, although officers from the Mobile Anti-Riot Squadron (ESMAD) remained in the area around the museum.
The police presence continued Sunday, when demonstrators returned early in the morning to resume their sit-in protest. Starting at 11 a.m., more people joined the gathering as officers remained deployed around the building.
Absurda, injustificada y desproporcionada, así es la actuación de la fuerza publica frente al Museo Nacional.
@CarlosFGalan usted es el comandante de la Policía en Bogotá y le debe explicaciones a la ciudadanía que pacíficamente convocó este plantón.
— María José Pizarro Rodríguez (@PizarroMariaJo) October 18, 2026
Artists and cultural workers join the opposition
As demonstrations continued, artists, journalists, intellectuals, and cultural workers began collecting signatures against the government’s decisions. The groups accused the administration of launching an offensive against Colombia’s 1991 Constitution and the diversity of ideas, beliefs, and cultures that characterizes Colombian society.
In this regard, protesters warned that the government was confronting “the rights acquired by women, Indigenous and Afro-descendant populations, and the LGBTQ+ community, which would constitute a serious historical setback.” They also alleged that “ministers, as well as directors of public institutes and agencies, have sought to turn their faith and religious principles into state policy and have openly expressed this position in statements, often delivered through official channels.”
They further argued that “by communicating in this way, they are promoting a process of political and religious indoctrination, contrary to what should be expected of any public official in a democracy.”
The demonstrations outside the National Museum thus became a visible expression of opposition to the “culture war” promoted and acknowledged by De la Espriella. The protests combined resistance to the removal of the exhibits with a defense of the right to demonstrate, while the police response added another dimension to the conflict.
The events at the National Museum and the public response highlight the challenges Colombia, like other countries around the world, faces in building historical memory and recognizing the role of different actors in the historical processes of nations that are constantly evolving.
Hoy a las 12:30 frente al Museo Nacional está convocado un plantón pacifico.
Ya el Museo esta rodeado de fuerza publica y tanquetas. Espero @CarlosFGalan permitan la presencia de quienes asistan y respeten este acto PACIFICO. ¡Allí nos vemos! https://t.co/Nx6fpHGvOy
— María José Pizarro Rodríguez (@PizarroMariaJo) October 17, 2026