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Gustavo Petro

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Gustavo Petro
Born19 April 1960
Ciénaga de Oro, Córdoba, Colombia
NationalityColombian
Political orientationSocial democracy
Anti-imperialism
Latin American integration


Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego (19 April 1960) is a Colombian politician and current president of Colombia. Petro has publicly declared opposition to socialism in an 2021 interview with El País.[1]

The former right-wing president Ivan Duque has saluted Petro as the next president and said they agreed to meet to initiate a "harmonious, institutional and transparent transition,"[2] showing signs that the Petro government does not promote a rupture with bourgeois governance. Petro has criticized the left-wing governments of Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela[3] but restored diplomatic relations with Venezuela after becoming president.[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 the capital city of Bogotá. 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]

  1. “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.
  2. “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.
  3. 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. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.