During a tour of the Finance, Interior, and Culture ministries, President Abelardo de la Espriella made several announcements related to the review of tax exemptions and subsidies, the need to strengthen the collection of existing taxes, and the implementation of an austerity policy in state entities. But perhaps the announcement that attracted the most attention across the country was the one concerning changes to the direction of the cultural sector, such as fighting against wokism.
To begin with, the president expressed his intention to restore the name Ministry of Culture and Heritage, since the department is currently called the Ministry of Cultures, Arts, and Knowledge. That name was given to it by Gustavo Petro’s government with the approval of Law 2319 of 2023, an initiative promoted by then Culture Minister Patricia Ariza, together with former Vice President Francia Marquez.
“This ministry must once again be called the Ministry of Culture and Heritage. And we are going to work toward that. The perversity of turning culture into a mechanism for indoctrination is over,” the president said, adding that his administration would seek to direct cultural policy toward defending the values it considers fundamental to the nation.
“I do not accept the glorification of terrorism”: De la Espriella
But at that point, he began to harden his rhetoric. He stated that he would not allow cultural spaces to be used to promote terrorism or glorify terrorist organizations or their members.
“I have instructed the minister [of Culture, Paola Holguin] to ensure that all that ode to terrorism featuring Pizarro and other terrorists is removed from public places. I will not accept it, and that is precisely what we have come here to confront,” he said.
De la Espriella was referring to Carlos Pizarro Leon-Gomez, the last leader of the M-19 guerrilla group (to which former President Petro belonged), who was assassinated aboard an Avianca flight on April 26, 1990, after demobilizing with that guerrilla group and embarking on a campaign to reach the presidency of the Republic through democratic means.
During Petro’s government, the figure of Pizarro and other symbols of that guerrilla group were exalted. The M-19 was responsible, among other abominable acts, for the bloody takeover of the Palace of Justice, in which 11 justices of the Supreme Court of Justice were murdered. Several military personnel and civilians also died, as did the entire guerrilla command that stormed Colombia’s seat of justice.
The glorification of these symbols even led the Ministry of Cultures to recognize Pizarro’s hat as Cultural Heritage of the Nation through Resolution 218 of June 17, 2024. However, on Sept. 30, 2026, the Council of State provisionally suspended the resolution declaring it cultural heritage, following a lawsuit that pointed to alleged irregularities in the Culture Ministry’s procedure.
De la Espriella reiterated his rejection of any manifestation that he considers a glorification of terrorism and defended the principles of legality, freedom, institutions, and democracy as pillars of his government. “I do not accept the glorification of terrorism. That is over in this government. Here we defend legality, freedom, institutions, and democracy,” he emphasized.
The decision to remove images and symbols of guerrilla groups and leaders that were displayed at the National Museum in Bogota was made following a complaint by Councilman Andres Barrios, who said he had visited the museum with his daughters and found a room full of Pizarro campaign posters, as well as accounts attributing the growth of the ELN, FARC, and M-19 guerrilla groups to “repressive governments.”
The councilman called for the exhibitions to be reviewed and demanded a historical narrative that recognizes the soldiers, police officers, hostages, and family members affected by guerrilla violence.
Former Senator Maria Jose Pizarro, daughter of the former guerrilla commander, said that President De la Espriella “seeks to ban the figure and the legacy of peace” of her father. “He has decided, as in the days of paramilitary fascism, to murder him once again.”
“As unjust and vile as those who killed him, [De la Espriella] ignores the fact that they will never be able to kill him and that, 36 years later, my father is more alive than ever, and that his attempt to ban him will only make him greater,” she wrote on X. “And he is doing this on the day of the demonstrations because he fears the people taking to the streets; they fear a conscious and peaceful people.”
An all-out fight against woke culture
Along those lines, he stated that the proposed changes seek to modify the direction of cultural policy and restore Colombians’ pride in their heritage and cultural expressions. “We are going to make our people, our citizens, our officials, and all Colombians feel proud of our culture again, as never before,” he said.
He then devoted a substantial part of his remarks to another sensitive issue: Woke culture, a term that describes an attitude of alertness and awareness regarding social injustices, racism, gender inequality, and the rights of the LGBT+ community, as well as the promotion of inclusive language. Because of these causes, it is strongly associated with the left and progressivism.
President De la Espriella said that during Petro’s government, an “absurd model” had been imposed that would no longer be part of his administration. “A model of collectives, labels, acronyms, and groups focused on promoting moral relativism. Wokism disregards the biological differences between male and female, falsifies history by reducing it to a succession of struggles between oppressors and the oppressed,” he said.
“This freedom-destroying movement imposes its postulates through physical and verbal violence in education, inclusive language, and, as has been said, culture,” he continued on this highly sensitive issue. “The government is taking an open and frontal stand against wokism. There is no ambiguity on this matter, and I will not allow any official to be ambiguous about it.”
He also warned that if any official in his government did not align with what he had outlined, that person should step aside. “Anyone who is part of the Tiger’s government [as De la Espriella calls himself] must defend the same founding principles and values. If not, they must step aside.”
Finally, he stated that “wokism is one of the great cancers threatening national unity and Colombian society. Wokism has brought gender ideology and identity-based interpretations into fields such as education, culture, and multiple areas of social life.”