On the afternoon of January 17, 1974, a four-man commando led by Álvaro Fayad stole the sword, stirrups and spurs of Simón Bolívar, liberator of six countries in the Americas. They were kept in a glass urn in the Quinta de Bolívar Museum, a colonial house in central Bogotá. With this symbolic and media act that went around the world, the M-19 was born, the urban guerrilla to which the current President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, belonged for many years. This Wednesday afternoon, 50 years later, the government commemorated with activities, discussions and exhibitions the historic event that culminated in the return of the sword to the house from which it was stolen. Following this return, the sword will be available to the public there until January 30th.
The Minister of Cultures, Arts and Knowledge, Juan David Correa, opened the commemorative events with a short speech at the National Museum: “The sword is a founding symbol of the M-19, but it does not begin or end with this act.” “It tells us about a republican dream that a man had more than 200 years ago,” he said to applause from many former militants of these guerrillas who signed the peace, handed over their weapons and played a key role in the creation of the 1991 constitution. “The M-19 filled society. These acts call for not violence but peace,” Correa continued.
People wait to see Simón Bolívar's sword at the Quinta de Bolívar museum on January 17. NATHALIA ANGARITA
For the Minister, opening the historical dialogue on the meaning of Bolívar's sword is an opportunity to create space for reflection and dialogue on the contribution of museums in building a culture of peace. “The country needs a national agreement, as President Petro proposes today and as Jaime Bateman, commander of the M-19, proposed then.” At the end of the event, in dialogue with the media, Correa emphasized the purpose of the commemoration: “We invite you a discussion about peace, not to reach an agreement, but to make the story more complex. “The sword not only represents what happened 50 years ago with the M-19, it also symbolizes the founding of this republic.”
After the minister's intervention, there was a discussion on the process of “recovery” of the sword, in which the Senator of the Historic Pact María José Pizarro – daughter of the murdered M-19 leader Carlos Pizarro, who led these guerrillas to peace – took part; the government's chief negotiator with the ELN and former M-19 fighter, Vera Grabe; and the High Commissioner for Peace and his running mate Otty Patiño. Grabe remembered with a laugh that she was unknowingly involved in the theft of the sword. “I studied at the University of Los Andes and after completing my lectures I went to Quinta de Bolívar to do educational work for the guerrillas. But I never knew it was about stealing the sword until it happened,” recalls the only woman in M-19 Central Command. Patiño pointed to the historical significance of the robbery: “The removal of the sword from the Quinta de Bolívar gave full validity to an instrument, a symbol of the liberator and the liberator himself. “The M-19 embodied a revolutionary and Latin American dimension of Bolívar.”
This idea of a revolutionary Bolívar who sought the unity of Latin America and independence from the Spanish colony was reflected in his texts such as the Jamaica Charter and was claimed by Petro on several occasions. In fact, his first order after being sworn in as president on August 7, 2022, was to have the weapon, transformed into a symbol of rebellion and the chances of victory of revolutions, brought to the Plaza de Bolívar: “As President of Colombia “I ask this Military House to bring Bolívar's sword, an order of the popular mandate,” he said in the afternoon. After a squad of decorated soldiers carried out the order of the former guerrilla fighter who had become their leader, Senator Pizarro was responsible for handing him the sword. It was the baptism of the first left-wing government in decades.
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GET HIMTotty Patiño, Maria José Pizarro and Vera Grabe, during the conversation at the National Museum.NATHALIA ANGARITA
A year and a half later, Pizarro recalled that at the age of 13 in 1990, along with other children of former M-19 guerrillas, she presented the sword to César Gaviria's government as a gesture of peace. It was once again a meaningful gesture. It was the generation of peace that advocated the end of the conflict. I'll be right back with her. Carlos Pizarro, a life for peace. I keep it as a symbol of struggle and memory.” For her, the sword is a symbol of what we must not forget: “The building of peace, sovereignty, integration, identity and Latin American unity, national reconciliation.”
In contrast to this call for peace and harmony, several parts of the opposition criticized the commemorations. Right-wing Democratic Center Senator Paloma Valencia wrote on her X account: “It is very abusive of this administration to use its power to celebrate the demands of a terrorist group like the M-19.” they seek to celebrate the theft of Bolívar's sword and glorify the terrible memory of the kidnapping, the murder of union leaders and the capture of the Palace of Justice. Everything is a horror that must be rejected. Armed combat is and remains unacceptable. Violence should never be glorified.” María Fernanda Cabal, also senator from Uribe, expressed her rejection of the events: “The plan, the theft of Bolívar's sword, the statements of Carlos Lehder and the disgrace they intend on General Arias Cabrales, like a “revolutionary act.” They are configuring the strategy to rewrite our history.”
The sword of Simón Bolívar at the Quinta de Bolívar Museum, open to the public until January 30th. NATHALIA ANGARITA
After the commemorations and debate, the sword, decorated with a relief shield of Gran Colombia, plant decorations and the three stars of General Bolívar, will disappear from public view in two weeks. Bolívar's desire to bury it again when social justice finally prevails in Colombia will have to wait for now.
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