The president-elect of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, once again said that he is rooting for the election of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) in Brazil, next October.
The politician takes office this Sunday (7), with high expectations – to be indicated by his popularity –, a guaranteed majority in both Houses of Congress and a street party organized for 100,000 people in Bogotá. This Saturday (6), he fulfilled a series of schedules in the Colombian capital.
In the evening, he attended a meeting with a group of 100 foreign journalists at a hotel in the Chapinero neighborhood, where he also received delegations from other heads of state. Upon arrival, the president-elect greeted those present one by one and, in response to the Sheetwho asked him about expectations for the elections in Brazil, was succinct: “May Lula win”.
In the Colombian election, PT also indicated, in June, that he would support the election of the former guerrilla, who in the end defeated the populist Rodolfo Hernández by a narrow margin. More recently, the vice-president-elect, Francia Márquez, expressed sympathy for Lula’s candidacy, also in an interview with Sheet.
President Jair Bolsonaro (PL), in turn, directed criticism and irony at Petro, despite the fact that Itamaraty bet on pragmatism when congratulating him on his victory. Brazil will be represented at the inauguration this Sunday precisely by Chancellor Carlos França — Bolsonaro and his deputy, Hamilton Mourão (Republicans), who will be candidates in October, preferred not to travel.
Other leaders, however, confirmed their presence in Bogotá, including the heads of state of Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay, Panama, Honduras, Costa Rica and Argentina, in addition to the Spanish King Felipe 6º. On Saturday afternoon, Petro received Honduran Xiomara Castro and Argentine Alberto Fernández, among others. Earlier, he participated with Francia Márquez in a spiritual cult with indigenous groups, who symbolically installed them.
The event with journalists in the evening was attended by other figures who will integrate the government, such as Iván Velázquez, the future Minister of Defense, and the designated chancellor, Álvaro Leyva. The reception had typical dishes and the waiters wore folk clothes.
The most recent survey by the Invamer Institute indicates that Petro will take over with the approval of 64% of Colombians (20 percentage points more than he had in February, at the beginning of the electoral campaign). He had never been so highly rated: when he was mayor of Bogotá, the highest he reached was 59% popularity.
The Invamer poll shows that most Colombians approved of the way Petro has approached the center and even the right in recent weeks. Meetings with figures such as former caudillo Álvaro Uribe served to show someone conciliatory and willing to talk to the opposition.
The current president, Iván Duque, leaves the post beloved by less than 20%, with a government worn out by the impact of the Covid pandemic, by two waves of protests —2019 and 2021— and by the increase in violence, which his hardline policies they couldn’t fight.
This Saturday, on his last day in office, he gave a speech on national television. He thanked the Colombians for their support and “constructive criticism.”
