Colombia’s first left-wing president has been sworn into office, vowing to fight inequality and bring peace to a country long dogged by bloody feuds between the government, drug traffickers and rebel groups.
Gustavo Petro, a former member of Colombia’s M-19 guerrilla group, won presidential elections in June by beating conservative parties that offered moderate changes to the pro-market economy, but failed to connect with voters frustrated by the ‘increase in poverty and violence against human rights. environmental leaders and groups in rural areas.
On Sunday, he said Colombia was getting a “second chance” to tackle violence and poverty and promised his government would implement economic policies that seek to end long-standing inequalities and ensure “solidarity” with the most vulnerable of the nation.
The new president said he was ready to start peace talks with armed groups around the country and also called on the United States and other developed nations to change drug policies that have focused on the prohibition of substances such as cocaine and have fueled violent conflicts in Colombia and other Latin American nations.
“It is time for a new international convention that accepts that the war on drugs has failed,” he said. “Of course, peace is possible. But it depends on the current drug policies being replaced by strong measures that prevent consumption in developed societies.”
Petro is part of a growing group of left-wing politicians and oddball politicians who have been winning elections in Latin America since the pandemic broke out and hurt struggling incumbents with their economic retorts.
The ex-rebel’s victory was also unusual for Colombia, where voters have historically been reluctant to support left-wing politicians who are often accused of being soft on crime or allies of guerrillas.
Hundreds of people have gathered in the country’s capital to celebrate in Bogotá the inauguration of the new Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Vice President Francia Marquez. Photo: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
A 2016 peace deal between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia shifted the focus of voters away from violent conflicts in rural areas and put a spotlight on issues such as poverty and corruption, fueling popular of left-wing parties in national elections. However, smaller rebel groups such as the National Liberation Army and the Gulf Clan continue to fight over drug trafficking routes, illegal gold mines and other resources abandoned by the FARC.
Petro, 62, has described US-led anti-narcotics policies as a failure, but has also said he would like to work with Washington “as equals”, building plans to combat climate change or bring infrastructure to rural areas where many farmers say coca leaves are the only viable crop.
Petro also formed alliances with environmentalists during his presidential campaign and has promised to make Colombia a “global powerhouse for life” by slowing deforestation and reducing the country’s reliance on fossil fuels.
He has said Colombia will stop granting new licenses for oil exploration and ban fracking projects, even though the oil industry accounts for nearly 50% of the country’s legal exports. He plans to fund social spending with a $10 billion-a-year tax overhaul that would raise taxes on the wealthy and eliminate tax breaks for businesses.
“He has a very ambitious agenda,” said Yan Basset, a political scientist at Rosario University in Bogotá. “But he will have to prioritize. The risk Petro faces is that it goes after too many reforms at once and gets nothing” through Colombia’s congress.
Analysts expect Petro’s foreign policy to be very different from that of his predecessor Iván Duque, a conservative who supported Washington’s drug policies and worked with the US government to isolate the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. in an attempt to force the authoritarian leader to remain free. elections
Instead, Petro has said he will recognize Maduro’s government and seek to work with the Venezuelan president on a number of issues, including fighting rebel groups along the countries’ porous border. Some border residents hope improved relations will lead to more trade and job opportunities.
In Cúcuta, a city a few kilometers from the border with Venezuela, business school student Daniela Cárdenas hopes that Petro will introduce an education reform that includes free tuition for university students.
“He has promised so many things,” Cárdenas, 19, said after traveling 90 minutes from his rural community to the city. “We have to work to be able to pay our student fees, which are quite expensive and, well, that makes a lot of things difficult for us.”
Petro won the election by just 2 percentage points, and remains a polarizing figure in Colombia, where many have distrusted former guerrillas participating in politics.