” I still have trouble believing it “, admits Eleonor, 76, contemplating Bolivar Square in Bogota, where the inauguration ceremony of the first left-wing president in the country’s history is being prepared. Elected on June 19 by a narrow majority, Gustavo Petro, 62, is due to take office on Sunday August 7. In a country marked by deep social inequalities and years of violence, the hope for change that he embodies is immense. The challenges ahead too. “The budgetary situation and the level of debt are even more critical than we imagined”warned the team in charge of the transition with the outgoing government of Ivan Duque (right).
Mr. Petro comes from the radical left: he was a guerrilla in his youth, before becoming deputy, senator, then mayor of Bogota. Long perceived as a sectarian man, he has multiplied since his election conciliatory remarks and gestures of openness. The future head of state now receives almost 65% favorable opinions. The poor record of Mr. Duque, who, since his election in 2018, has not undertaken any major reform, contributes to the popularity of his successor.
Gustavo Petro wants both to fight against poverty, to commit his country to the path of sustainable development and to build a “total peace”. He said he was open to dialogue with his political adversaries as well as with the armed groups operating in the country. His call for national unity was well received. In Congress, the center and part of the right agreed to join the left-wing coalition of the Historic Pact. Gustavo Petro will therefore have a large parliamentary majority at the start of his mandate. Within the traditional elites and in part of the public, the “petrophobia” and the fear of seeing the country “fall into socialism” remain important. But the hard right, ousted from the second round, has for the moment no longer a leader.
Representation of minorities
“The arrival of a left-wing government in a country that has never known alternation causes a certain stress in society, which wonders if Gustavo Petro will know how to govern, if the army will let him do it, if the violence will finally give way,” explains analyst Jorge Ivan Cuervo. Gustavo Petro named his main collaborators. A 79-year-old conservative, Alvaro Leyva, a tireless defender of peace negotiations with the armed movements, will hold the ministry of foreign relations. Three former Liberal ministers have been appointed to finance, agriculture and education.
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