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Gustavo Petro | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 19 April 1960 Ciénaga de Oro, Córdoba, Colombia |
| Nationality | Colombian |
| Political orientation | Social democracy Anti-imperialism Latin American integration |
| Political party | Humane Colombia Historic Pact |
Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego (born 19 April 1960) is a Colombian politician who has served as president of Colombia since 2022. Previously he served as mayor of Bogotá from 2012 to 2015 and came second in the 2018 Colombian presidential election. He has also founded and served as leader of Humane Colombia since 2011 and of Historic Pact since June 2025.
Upon his victory Petro was congragulated by former right-wing president Iván Duque and the pair agreed to a cooperative transition, signaling bourgeois political continuity.[1] Petro has publicly opposed socialism,[2] and criticized left-wing governments in Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela,[3] but he did also resume diplomatic ties with Venezuela after taking office.[4]
Political career[edit | edit source]
Gustavo Petro fought in the socialist guerrilla group M-19. After becoming a social democrat, he became mayor of Bogotá, the capital city of Colombia. His presidential campaign was supported by a broad left-wing coalition ranging from communists to liberals.[5]
Presidency[edit | edit source]
In September 2022, Petro resumed diplomatic relations with Venezuela and reopened the border that had been closed since the 2019 coup attempt.[4] He signed a declaration with Nicolás Maduro pledging to reintegrate Latin America.[6]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ “Llamé a Gustavo Petro para felicitarlo como presidente electo de los colombianos. Acordamos reunirnos en los próximos días para iniciar una transición armónica, institucional y transparente
[I called Gustavo Petro to congratulate him as president-elect of the Colombian people. We agreed to meet in the coming days to initiate a harmonious, institutional and transparent transition.]”
"“Habrá un transición armónica, institucional y transparente”: Duque tras hablar con Petro" (2022-06-19). El Colombiano. - ↑ “Desde esta perspectiva, mi programa de gobierno es la Constitución y mis reformas no serían catalogadas de izquierda en Europa. Las necesidades de la sociedad colombiana no son las de construir el socialismo, sino construir democracia y paz, punto.
[From this perspective, my government program is the Constitution and my reforms would not be classified as leftist in Europe. The needs of Colombian society are not to build socialism, but to build democracy and peace, period.]”
"Gustavo Petro: “Colombia no necesita socialismo, necesita democracia y paz”" (2021-09-19). El País. - ↑ Ben Norton (2022-05-29). "Colombia’s far-right presidential candidate praised Hitler: Millionaire Rodolfo Hernández goes to runoff" Multipolarista. Archived from the original on 2022-06-24. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Javier Guerrero (2022-11-18). "What has Gustavo Petro, Colombia’s first leftist president, accomplished so far?" Liberation News. Archived from the original on 2022-11-20. Retrieved 2022-11-22.
- ↑ Ben Norton (2022-06-19). "Colombia’s first ever left-wing president: Gustavo Petro wins historic election. What does it mean?" Multipolarista. Archived from the original on 2022-06-24. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
- ↑ Ben Norton (2022-11-02). "Colombia’s new president reverses US coup, visits Venezuela, pledges unity in ‘spirit of Bolívar’" Multipolarista. Archived from the original on 2022-11-25. Retrieved 2022-12-04.