Economist Gustavo Petro, leader in polls for voting intentions for the presidency of Colombia, apologized for speaking under the influence of alcohol at a rally in Girardot, a city 140 kilometers from the capital Bogotá, on Monday (7).
Videos of the leftist politician’s speech went viral on social media, with strong criticism from his rivals. This Tuesday (8), Petro apologized in a post on Twitter and attributed his condition to jet lag after a trip to Europe.
“It is true that with the fatigue of the trip to Europe and the change of schedule, I felt bad for a drink I had before the appointment in Girardot. I apologize to those who attended the act, which I wanted to fulfill despite my tiredness”, he wrote.
Petro has been mayor of Bogotá, senator and presidential candidate — in 2018, he reached the second round and lost to the current president, Ivan Duque. In one of the excerpts of the campaign act that went viral on the networks, he gestures and speaks in a clearly slurred voice: “May the red flags be raised again! May this city be called the red capital of Colombia again.”
And he continues, criticizing Duque: “How to do that? If you voted for a leader… If you voted for [Ivan] Duke? If the reality was the economic destruction of the territory… If in reality the population of Girardot was condemned to poverty?
Political opponents took advantage of the episode to criticize Petro, favorite for the election, which will have the first round played on May 29.
Conservative Óscar Iván Zuluaga, an ally of former right-wing president Álvaro Uribe, wrote on Twitter: “Some politicians get drunk with power, others seem like before that… Can you imagine what would become of Gustavo Petro in the presidency?”
“The drunks are supposed to tell the truth. ‘Let the red flags be raised again,’ said Gustavo Petro, drunk with power. Any doubts about what would happen in Colombia if he wins?”, nudged María Fernanda Cabal, from the Centro Democratic, ruling party.
Gustavo Petro was a member of the M-19, an urban guerrilla that operated between the 1970s and 1990s. After that period, the group became a party (Aliança Democrática) and elected parliamentarians to help draft the 1991 Constitution.
The M-19 was responsible for a dramatic episode of Colombian political violence, when it invaded the Palace of Justice in Bogotá in 1985. More than 50 people were killed in the attack, including Supreme Court justices.
Despite the wistful and drunken speech of a red comeback and the provocation of rivals, Petro is ahead in the polls sporting a somewhat moderate veneer, more to the centre-left. He is at the head of the so-called Historic Pact, a coalition of parties and social movements.
In an interview with the newspaper El País in September 2021, the candidate stated that he “always distrusted” the Venezuelan Nicolás Maduro and that the “need of Colombian society is not to build socialism, but democracy and peace, period”.
Thus, if elected, he must join a new wave of Latin American leaders in this political field who seek to distance themselves from links with dictatorships such as those in Venezuela and Nicaragua.
Last week’s trip that Petro referred to as a justification for drunkenness was a tour of Europe, where he met with European leaders, as well as Pope Francis, at the Vatican.
