A statue of the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro has been reinstalled in the center of the Peruvian capital, Lima, more than 20 years after it was removed.
The statue was unveiled during a ceremony held on the occasion of the 490th anniversary of the founding of the city.
Pizarro founded the city of Lima in 1535 after defeating the Inca Empire and claiming its lands for the Spanish Crown.
Indigenous leaders say he was a mass murderer who destroyed their culture, while those who supported the statue's return said Peru should not erase its history.
The monument, which shows Pizarro riding a horse with his sword drawn, was created by American sculptor Charles Rumsey and presented by his widow to commemorate the city's quadrennial in 1935.
In 2003, it was moved to a park next to the train tracks outside the city center after calls for its removal.
Luis Bogdanovic, who was responsible for the restoration of the historic center, told local media that the statue was damaged by the constant passing of trains, which led to it cracking.
The bronze statue was presented on Saturday alongside Bogdanovic and several of Pizarro's descendants in Lima's main Plaza de Armas.
Díaz Ayuso said the party was celebrating “not only the birth of a city, but also the beginning of a historic encounter that changed the world forever,” Spanish daily newspaper El País reported.
Dozens of Peruvians organized a demonstration nearby opposing her return, according to Agence France-Presse.
“This is a crime, a crime for all indigenous people in Peru, Latin America and the world,” one person said.
