The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, with Bolívar's sword in an urn to the right, delivers his investiture speech this Sunday, at Plaza Bolívar in Bogotá, on August 7, 2022. Carlos Ortega (EFE)
Colombia experienced a historic day.
Gustavo Petro, the first left-wing president in the country's recent history, took office as president.
This is a selection of the most iconic moments during the investiture ceremony:
Bolívar's sword did arrive
An urn was the protagonist of Gustavo Petro's possession.
The frictions over the exhibition of the sword of the liberator Simón Bolívar ended up taking the spotlight in the otherwise festive, colorful and diverse ceremony of transmission of command between Iván Duque and the first left-wing president in the history of Colombia.
"This sword has so much history that today it will add one more," said Petro, already sworn in, in the Plaza de Bolívar, moments after ordering the Military House to bring it.
"It's the people's sword, and that's why we wanted it here," he said without hesitation.
It is the same sword that the M-19 guerrillas, to which Petro belonged in his youth, stole from the Quinta de Bolívar in early 1974 to turn it into a symbol of their movement.
When the rebels signed peace in 1990, they returned it to the Government of César Gaviria (1990-1994).
For many years it was kept in a vault of the Banco de la República, but later it became part of the heritage of the Casa de Nariño, the seat of government.
Bolívar's sword, which Gustavo Petro ordered to be brought during the Possession ceremony, in Bogotá, on August 7, 2022. Gustavo Petro's Communications Office
With this historical weight, the object was called to concentrate the attention of the ceremony for days.
That was the expectation of dozens of former members of the M-19 who got up early to see the inauguration on a giant screen in the Quinta de Bolívar itself, and that is how the new president wanted it – as a symbol of freedom, unity, hope and life, as he explained. the organizing team.
However, about the time, Iván Duque did not allow it.
On Saturday night, in one of his last government actions, he prevented the transfer of the sword to the acts of transmission of command, citing fears for matters related to security and insurance policies.
The discordant note ended when Petro, sworn in and on the platform, gave the presidential order to bring her, which even led the president of the Senate, Roy Barreras,
order a break from the ceremony while he arrived.
At the end of the act, however, they greeted each other without closeness or shrillness.
Although Duque and Petro are at the opposite ideological poles, and have never hidden their mutual mistrust, the decision to prevent the transfer contrasted with the cordiality that prevailed in the meeting that they had already held in the Casa de Nariño after the elections, in the that Petro was seen smiling and relaxed.
The former mayor of Bogotá then said that Duque taught him the "mythical" sword of the liberator.
Francia Márquez and her message to Afro ancestors
In her inaugural oath as vice president, Afro-descendant environmental activist Francia Márquez made a small move outside of protocol to make room for the country she represents and which, until now, had been excluded from power in Colombia.
She not only promised to comply with the Constitution before God and the people, but also before her "ancestors and ancestors", as well as working for "Colombians and Colombians who have historically been excluded."
Márquez, who was born into poverty and has stood up to illegal mining, ended her short swearing-in with a phrase that has become an anthem: “until dignity becomes customary,” she said.
The new vice president of Colombia, Francia Márquez, during the inauguration ceremony.CESAR CARRION (Gustavo Petro Communications Office)
But, although his words were short, his presence and that of his family in the act of possession, were eloquent.
Colombia is a country with a huge Afro-descendant population.
However, only until this Sunday did they have representation in power.
The ceremony was also a vindication with the Afro people.
The main artist on the stage of the Plaza de Bolívar was Teresita Gómez, an Afro woman who has endured discrimination and is one of the most important pianists in the country.
In other spaces, the Afro-dancer Fernando Montaño, who was born in Buenaventura and came to the Royal Ballet in London, also performed;
as well as the opera singer, Betty Garcés.
Popular guests of honor
The Colombian people were the main guests at Gustavo Petro's inauguration ceremony.
And especially the traditionally excluded communities.
That was the central message that was repeated insistently, and in every way, from the Historical Pact, the motley coalition behind the leftist politician.
To reinforce it, in the Plaza de Bolívar, along with a dozen heads of state, five "guests of honor" from different regions also had a seat: a fisherman from the department of Tolima, a lady from Chocó, a coffee grower from Caldas, a silletero from Antioquia and also a sweeper from Medellín, Kelly Garcés, 31, well remembered for a viral video during the campaign.
The sequence showed how she had hung an advertisement for Petro and Francia Márquez on her cleaning cart,
and endured with dignity the harassment to which the citizen who recorded it in the second city of the country, traditionally antipetrist, subjected her.
In the final stretch of the campaign, Petro's advisers changed the strategy of a public square with huge crowds, and concentrated on broadcasting their visit to ordinary people on social networks to give an image of closeness that was not transmitted on stage. .
It was on those tours that the current president met his guests.
In the first lines of his inaugural speech, he recalled that there, present in the square, were "the humble hands of the worker, the peasants and those who sweep the streets."
Petro's advisers changed the strategy of a public square with huge crowds, and concentrated on broadcasting his visit to ordinary people on social networks to give an image of closeness that he did not transmit on stage.
It was on those tours that the current president met his guests.
In the first lines of his inaugural speech, he recalled that there, present in the square, were "the humble hands of the worker, the peasants and those who sweep the streets."
Petro's advisers changed the strategy of a public square with huge crowds, and concentrated on broadcasting his visit to ordinary people on social networks to give an image of closeness that he did not transmit on stage.
It was on those tours that the current president met his guests.
In the first lines of his inaugural speech, he recalled that there, present in the square, were "the humble hands of the worker, the peasants and those who sweep the streets."
memory, present
Carlos Pizarro, the murdered former leader of the M-19, was present at one of the most symbolic moments of the ceremony.
The image of him, embroidered on the back of the jacket of his daughter, Senator María José Pizarro, recalled the struggle of Petro himself, a former guerrilla from the same movement.
“Today is a historic day of joy and celebration.
Years and generations dreaming and fighting for this moment.
My heartfelt tribute to those who stayed on the road for this fight, this is also for you," wrote Pizarro, who was in charge of imposing the presidential sash on the new president. "We are here against all odds, against the usual, against those who did not want to let go of power.
We did it, we made the impossible possible;
with work, listening to people, their ideas, with the heart, ”said Pizarro through her social networks.
The senator, María José Pizarro, wears a jacket with the image of her father, Carlos Pizarro, this Sunday, August 7.
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Petro's quiet meeting with the military
Minutes after finishing the presidential speech, Gustavo Petro greeted and marched with the military commanders, as established by the protocol of the ceremony.
Before entering the Casa de Nariño, during the transition of command, the new president participated in a minute of silence in tribute to the soldiers and police officers killed in the conflict.
Petro's calm meeting with the Army is symbolic of his guerrilla past and, above all, of the friction he had had with the military leadership in the last stage of the campaign, when former Army Commander Eduardo Zapaterio harshly attacked the then-candidate. through his Twitter account: “Senator, do not use your investiture (parliamentary inviolability) to pretend to engage in politicking with the death of our soldiers,
Rather, comply with your citizen duty of substantiated complaint before the @FiscaliaCol of the facts that you mention, whoever you are.
Days after the message, Zapateiro resigned from the command of the army.
The appointment of Iván Velázquez, a well-known human rights defender and staunch critic of the military, as the new defense minister has also generated uncertainty regarding the new government's relationship with the army in the coming months.
A day with sun and clouds, without gales or red carpet
The inauguration of Iván Duque, four years ago, was marked by almost stormy weather, with strong gusts of wind and rain that at times raised fears that the flags and umbrellas would fly away.
The sky marked a first contrast.
Petro's took place on a cloudy day, but at times sunny and without major inclement weather.
Following tradition, the former mayor of Bogotá walked from the Palacio de San Carlos, the seat of the Foreign Ministry, to the Plaza de Bolívar, where a crowd of thousands awaited him.
The change that it represents in front of Duque also translated into the fact that at no time during the ceremony was there the red carpet that characterized the former president, and that he inevitably rolled out to go vote during the three elections that took place this year, even in the rainy days.
Supporters of the new president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, cheer during the inauguration ceremony.RAUL ARBOLEDA (AFP)
Santos, Gaviria and Samper, the former presidents who attended Petro's inauguration
Neither Álvaro Uribe Vélez nor Andrés Pastrana, the two former Colombian presidents on the right, attended Gustavo Petro's inauguration ceremony.
Former President Uribe had announced his absence days before through his Twitter account: "I called President Gustavo Petro, I thanked him for his kind invitation to the inauguration and I excused myself from attending because I have had a prisoner complex for two years."
Former President Andrés Pastrana did the same in a letter in which he criticized the new government and explained the reasons for not going to the ceremony.
“I appreciate the invitation to fill out the form for the 2022 Presidential Command Transfer Ceremony, an honor that I must decline due to the insurmountable ethical and political differences that separate us,” Pastrana wrote.
The former president also
He referred to the results of the last presidential elections and hinted that there had been fraud: “the question mark surrounding the counting of the popular vote is the sword of Damocles regarding the legitimacy of the electoral process and the democratic continuity after four years of mandate".
The other three living former presidents of Colombia did attend the inauguration of Gustavo Petro with their families.
Cesar Gaviria Trujillo, Ernesto Samper and Juan Manuel Santos were present as guests of honor at the protocol ceremony.
The other three living former presidents of Colombia did attend the inauguration of Gustavo Petro with their families.
Cesar Gaviria Trujillo, Ernesto Samper and Juan Manuel Santos were present as guests of honor at the protocol ceremony.
The other three living former presidents of Colombia did attend the inauguration of Gustavo Petro with their families.
Cesar Gaviria Trujillo, Ernesto Samper and Juan Manuel Santos were present as guests of honor at the protocol ceremony.
Botero's dove of peace that did not arrive
With the Presidency of Gustavo Petro, Colombia is once again talking about peace after a four-year hiatus.
The first left-wing president, who in his youth belonged to the M-19 guerrilla, intends to give new impetus to the implementation of the agreement with the extinct FARC, resume talks with the ELN guerrilla and advance a policy of submission for other criminal groups.
The nascent Government intended to capture this emphasis with some symbols.
'The dove of peace', the sculpture that Fernando Botero donated to the Government of Juan Manuel Santos at the end of 2016, in the final stretch of the peace process with the FARC, inhabited the Casa de Nariño until the end of his period.
When Iván Duque, a critic of the agreements, came to power, the work was transferred to the National Museum.
already campaigning,
Petro indicated without a doubt that he would once again install that white dove with a golden beak in the presidential palace.
He wanted to give him a relevant role in the ceremony of transfer of command, but, like Bolívar's sword, he ran into obstacles from the outgoing government – not fully detailed – that prevented him from doing so.
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