Petro describes the disqualification of María Corina Machado as an “anti-democratic coup”. Machado scores higher in the polls than Nicolás Maduro, which is why he had become a real headache for the ruling party.
Petro was dismissed in 2013 as mayor of Bogotá and disqualified for 15 years for a matter related to garbage - justice would later rule in his favor. Since then he has directly opposed the fact that administrative processes can veto politicians elected by the people.