the leftist Gustavo Petro took office, this Sunday (7) as president of the Colombia , in Plaza de Bolívar, in Bogotá. The ceremony brought together thousands of supporters in the center of the capital and in places with installed screens.
According to the Senate president, Roy Barreras Petro’s inauguration took place in front of around 100,000 people, including the Spanish King Felipe VI and at least nine Latin American presidents.
In a speech, Barreras stated that “what we have come to do today is to try to stop death and transform Colombia into a power of life”. “We came to tell the ELN: put down your weapons,” he added.
Petro began his speech after being sworn in moments before.
“Colombians and Colombians have been condemned many times in our history to the impossible, to the lack of opportunities.”
“I want to say to all Colombians who listen to me in this Plaza Bolivar, on the outskirts, throughout Colombia and abroad, that our second chance begins today,” said the new president. “Today the Colombia of the possible begins”.
“This is the government of life and peace, and for that it will be remembered,” he added.
Vice President Francia Márquez also spoke during her swearing-in. “Until dignity becomes a custom,” she said.
Petro and Márquez reach the presidency of Colombia after reaching more than 11 million votes in the second round of elections on June 19.
Profile
A leader of the left, Petro is recognized as a former member of the guerrilla group M-19 (April 19 Movement), demobilized in the 1990s. His past as a militant made the public life of the first place controversial.
Born in the municipality of Ciénaga de Oro, in the department of Córdoba, on the Caribbean coast, in 1960, he entered public life at a young age, at the age of 21, as a municipal councilor, a sort of councilor. It was also at this time that he approached the M-19.
This year’s election was Petro’s third bid for the presidential seat. Previously, the candidate was senator and mayor of the Colombian capital, Bogotá.
The Historic Pact program spearheaded by Petro — who defines himself as a “progressive” leftist in a highly traditional and right-wing country — raises the need for profound reforms in areas as diverse as the economic model and the functioning of the Armed Forces.
It brings diversified proposals in the economy, security, gender equality and the environment. See here a summary of its main proposals.
economy in Colombia
Colombia, like other countries in the region, is going through a challenging economic moment, with inflation soaring and the peso seriously devalued against the dollar.
Critics say Petro’s plan for Colombia to no longer have an extractive oil economy model influences to discourage foreign investment, destabilize markets and devalue the currency.
*With information from CNN Español.
Source: CNN Brasil
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