Christopher Columbus statue in Mexico City removed

Mexicans reacted Sunday to the removal of the statue of Christopher Columbus, the 15th century explorer who has become a polarizing figure, from a main avenue by city government authorities. On Saturday, Mexico City government and National Institute of Anthropology and History workers removed a statue from Paseo de la Reforma, days ahead of the Dia de la Raza or Day of the Race in Latin America.

In its Twitter account, the Secretary of Government of Mexico City said the removal for maintenance and restoration purposes, although some believe it was taken down in response to several activist groups calling for a protest and vowing to remove the statue on Monday.

"I don't agree with having that kind of monument on the streets because I think they represent oppression," said Viridiana Chacon, a local resident who passed by the now empty base where the statue sat. Once heralded as the discoverer of America in 1492, the legacy of Columbus has undergone greater scrutiny in recent decades.

Columbus' sailing expeditions are now seen by many as opening the door to the European conquest of Indigenous peoples. Across the Americas and the word, statues of historical figures, including that of Christopher Columbus, have been toppled in protests or as part of governments' responses to a widespread call to end police brutality and symbols of racism or minorities' oppression.

The Mexico City government has surrounded most of the monuments along the Paseo de la Reforma avenue with a blue plastic fence mostly protect the monuments from being defaced during street demonstrations.