Bolivian President Seeks to Remove 'Looter' Christopher Columbus from Public Places

Bolivian President Evo Morales is proposing to remove the European names of streets and cities in the nation and return them to their indigenous origins, beginning with stripping every street named after Christopher Columbus.

Morales, himself of indigenous descent, announced this week a plan to return as many places in Bolivia as possible to their pre-Columbian names. “All I ask is, why not recover the original names of this zone?” he asked, suggesting the nation no longer call its neighbor “Argentina,” but “Orinoca.” The campaign would eliminate the presence of prominent Europeans in Bolivia’s history, despite the Spanish presence in the nation for centuries.

Of Columbus, the first European man to lead a successful expedition to the Americas acknowledged by Europe, Morales had little flattering to say. “In some areas still, we have Columbus Square. How could that possibly be, ‘Columbus Square’?” he asked. “He was an invader, a looter that brought us another form of life, in which we are looted and left in poverty.” In reality, the Spanish crown broke their initial contract with Columbus and denied him the riches recovered from the Americas upon his return, and he died poor, but comfortable, in Valladolid.

In another display of anti-European sentiment, Morales protested against the extended suspension of Uruguayan soccer player Luis Suarez by FIFA. Suarez was suspended for biting another player, but Morales insisted, “some FIFA leaders are retaliating on some South American players in order to not to continue eliminating the Europeans.”