Article author:
AP communication
Manuel Rueda
Colombia, Bogotá (AP) — Colombia's first left-wing president takes office on Sunday, promising to fight inequality, a turning point in history In a country suffering from a long war between the government and the guerrilla group.
Senator Gustavo Petro, a former member of Colombia's M-19 guerrilla group, won the June presidential election by defeating the Conservative Party, which has brought about mild changes in the market-friendly economy. However, he did not connect with the dissatisfied voters. Due to growing poverty and violence against human rights leaders and environmental groups in rural areas.
Petro has won elections in Latin America since the outbreak of the pandemic and has hurt incumbents suffering from economic aftershocks. It is part of a growing group of foreigners.
The victory of the former rebels was also exceptional for Colombia. In Colombia, voters have historically been reluctant to support left-wing politicians, who are often accused of being vulnerable to crime and allied with guerrillas.
The 2016 peace agreement between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia keeps much of the voter's focus away from the fierce conflicts that take place in rural areas, highlighting issues such as poverty and corruption and making them popular. I raised it. The number of left-wing parties in national elections.
Petro, 62, tackles Colombia's social and economic inequality by spending more on poverty programs and investing in rural areas. I promised. He described US-led anti-drug policies, such as the forced eradication of illegal coca crops, as a "major failure." But he worked "equally" with Washington to develop plans to combat climate change and bring infrastructure to rural areas, where many farmers say coca leaves are the only viable crop. I said I want to.
Petro also formed an alliance with environmentalists during the presidential campaign to make Colombia a "world power of life" by taking steps to delay deforestation and reduce its dependence on fossil fuels. I promised to change it to.
President-elect says Colombia has stopped granting new licenses for oil exploration, even though the oil industry accounts for almost 50% of the country's legitimate exports. Said to ban hydraulic fracturing projects. He plans to raise taxes on the wealthy, eliminate corporate tax cuts, and raise $ 10 billion in tax reforms annually to fund social spending.
Petro also said he would like to begin peace talks with the remaining rebels currently in dispute over drug routes, gold mines and other resources abandoned by the FARC after a peace treaty with the government.
"He has a very ambitious agenda," said Yambasset, a political scientist at the University of Rosario in Bogotá. "But he needs to prioritize. The risk that Petro faces is that he implements too many reforms at once and gets nothing," through the Colombian parliament.
At least 10 heads of state will attend Peter's inauguration in a large colonial square in front of the Colombian Parliament. The park in Bogotá's city center also features live music and a large-screen stage, allowing tens of thousands of uninvited citizens to attend the festival. This is a big change for Colombia, where the previous presidential inauguration was a more solemn event limited to hundreds of VIP guests.
"We want the Colombian people to be the protagonists," Peter spokesman Marisol Rojas said in a statement. "This inauguration will be the first taste of a new form of governance in which all forms of life are respected and open to everyone."
