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Colombia begins a new political era on Sunday with the inauguration of Gustavo Petro, the first left-wing president in its history, who promises radical transformations in a country with strong inequalities and plagued by the endless spiral of violence linked to the trafficking of dope.
A new page for Colombia. The first left-wing president in the history of the South American country Gustavo Petro was sworn in on Sunday August 7, after a political campaign promising radical transformations in a Colombia with strong inequalities. The former guerrilla also wants to “bring (…) peace” as the population finds itself prey to the endless spiral of violence linked to armed groups and drug trafficking.
The 62-year-old former senator, who left the armed rebellion three decades ago, was sworn in in front of hundreds of thousands of people, as well as a large delegation of international guests. “I swear to God and I promise the people to faithfully respect the Constitution and the laws of Colombia,” said the former senator and ex-guerrilla.
“The first government that we hope will be a government of peace is about to begin. We hope it can bring to Colombia what it has not had for centuries, namely the tranquility and peace”, Gustavo Petro had declared the day before in Bogota, during an enthronement ceremony among the indigenous, Afro-Colombian and peasant peoples.
“Here begins a government that will fight for environmental justice”, he also launched, eager to make peace, reductions in inequalities and ecology the primary battles of his government.
The former opposition leader for two decades takes office with a battery of reforms in mind that have raised high expectations among his supporters since his victory on June 19.
Alongside her, environmentalist Francia Marquez, 40, was also sworn in as the first Afro-Colombian vice president of a nation that has historically been ruled by white male elites.
Gustavo Petro starts from an “enviable position, with a large majority in Parliament and enjoys, at street level, support that no government has had in recent years”, analyzed for AFP analyst Jorge Restrepo of the Resource Center for Conflict Analysis (Cerac).
Tax increases on the wealthy to finance social reforms
Gustavo Petro has formed a plural government, with women at the head of several portfolios, with the mission of advancing the reforms which will begin their legislative journey on Monday.
In search of resources to finance social reform plans, bills intend to increase taxes on the richest, improve their collection or tax sugary drinks. But “the level of debt and fiscal deficit that we found are critical,” said Daniel Rojas, one of the coordinators of the transition commission with the government of his predecessor Ivan Duque (2018-2022).
Despite everything, the new president intends to fulfill his promise to reduce the gap between the richest and the poorest by developing access to credit, increasing aid and emphasizing education.
“I will fight for social justice in one of the most aberrant societies of inequality on Earth,” he said Saturday.
While Colombia’s economy has recovered from the pandemic and returned to growth, July’s 10.2% year-on-year inflation, unemployment (11.7%) and 39% poverty make President Petro’s challenges still taller.
“People expect some of the changes promised during the campaign to be implemented quickly, which, added to the economic situation (…) generates an atmosphere of tension”, warns Patricia Muñoz, political scientist at the Javeriana University.
Seeking peace with the ELN and FARC dissidents
On the international level, Gustavo Petro has announced that he wants to reactivate the diplomatic and commercial relations severed since 2019 with the neighboring Venezuela of Nicolas Maduro. He is also seeking support to resume peace talks with the National Liberation Army (ELN), the last recognized guerrilla in the country.
Although the peace agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in 2016 reduced violence, Colombia has yet to extinguish the continent’s last internal armed conflict.
In addition to the ELN, powerful gangs of drug traffickers such as the Clan del Golfo, led by Baron “Otoniel” extradited this year to the United States, impose their law in several regions of the country.
And FARC dissidents are also challenging Bogota with resources from illegal mining and, above all, drug trafficking, as Colombia remains the largest cocaine producer in the world.
On this point, Gustavo Petro proposes to rethink the failure of the crop eradication policy, in collaboration with the United States, the main consumer of this coca leaf derivative. The new president will offer peace to these armed groups in exchange for sentence reduction programs, on the model of the agreement with the FARC.
He also intends to reform the riot police, accused of multiple human rights violations during the violent repression of the demonstrations which shook the mandate of his predecessor.
With AFP