Monumental Changes
El Salvador's decision to dismantle the Monument to Reconciliation, commemorating the end of El Salvador's civil war, got attention in the press this week. President Bukele posted a video of the dismantling to Twitter and got the usual approval from his fans. The monument was built on the 25th anniversery of the peace accords and now on the 30th it is coming down. The project was promoted and built by members of the FMLN, the socialist political party which includes members of the guerilla force in the civil war.
President Bukele has been a determined opponent of the monument along with its January 16th holiday. He has called it a "horrible monument" and said the government should "stop the glorification of murderers." He passed a law changing January 16th from the Day of Reconciliation to Day of the Victims of the Armed Conflict. And he promised the monument would be demolished and converted to a park.
I don't understand the politics involved in this decision. The comments in El Salvador approving the decision have been from the political Right and the FMLN oppsed it. The disagreement seems to be between those who saw the civil war as a noble cause and those who think it was a bloody and pointless mistake. Aesthetically the monument strikes me as the result of commitee, with something to appease all interest groups. The blue woman representing the spirit of peace especially looked like a botched piece of work. However, I am on on principle opposed to teraing down statues. They represent our history, which should be faced honestly and not rewritten.