Gustavo Petro, the first left-wing president in Colombia's history, was sworn in on Sunday in front of hundreds of thousands of people in Bogota, calling on armed groups to sign peace and end the "
war against -drugs
” held in check.
This 62-year-old ex-guerrilla succeeds the very unpopular Iván Duque (2018-2022) for a four-year term which he begins with the support of a left-wing majority in Congress.
Colombia, long ruled by a conservative elite, is thus on a trajectory common to other Latin American countries that are experiencing a left turn.
Rethinking political failure
In particular, he offered armed groups operating in Colombia “
legal advantages
” if they signed the peace: “
We call on (…) all armed groups to relegate arms to the nebulae of the past.
To accept legal advantages in exchange for peace and in exchange for a definitive end to the violence
,” he said.
Although the peace agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC, Marxists) in 2016 has reduced violence, Colombia has not yet extinguished the continent's last internal armed conflict.
Read alsoColombia: Gustavo Petro, the guerrilla president
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 the state with resources from illegal mining and, above all, drug trafficking.
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.
“Prevention of consumption”
He also felt that it was “
time to have a new international convention which accepts that the war on drugs has failed
”, to prefer a “
strong policy of prevention of consumption
” in developed countries.
According to him, in forty years of the fight against drugs, “
a million Latin Americans
” have been murdered and 70,000 North Americans succumb “
every year to overdoses
”.
Colombia is the world's largest producer of cocaine, with the United States as its largest customer.
“
The war on drugs has strengthened the mafias and weakened states
,” he noted.
Read alsoColombia: "Gustavo Petro is not in a position of class struggle"
Gustavo Petro, who left the armed rebellion three decades ago, was sworn in at Bolivar Square in Bogota before a large delegation of international guests and a huge crowd.
“
The first government, which we hope will be a government of peace, is about to begin.
We hope he can bring to Colombia what it has not had for centuries, namely tranquility and peace
,” Mr. Petro said on Saturday in the capital during a first enthronement ceremony. among indigenous peoples, Afro-Colombians and peasants.
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, is 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
”, estimates expert Jorge Restrepo, from the Conflict Analysis Resource Center (Cerac).
Financing 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 wealthy, improve their collection and tax sugary drinks.
But "
the level of debt and budget deficit that we found is critical
," said Daniel Rojas, one of the coordinators of the transition commission with the government of his predecessor Iván Duque.
Despite everything, Gustavo Petro 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.
While the Colombian 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 the challenges even greater.
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Internationally, Gustavo Petro will reactivate the diplomatic and trade relations severed since 2019 with neighboring Venezuela of Nicolás Maduro, and seek support to resume peace talks with the National Liberation Army (ELN), the last recognized guerrilla. in the country.