Bogota: Gustavo Petro became the first left-wing president of independent Colombia. Thousands witnessed the swearing-in ceremony at Parque Tercer Milenio. Francia Márquez, sworn in as vice president, is Colombia’s first black vice president.
The government will focus on peace and environmental and social justice. Will stand with social progress. The government will be the servants of the people – the words of the sixty-two-year-old Gustavo Petro in the first address were filled with a picture of a nation’s two-century-long wait.
The historic pact, a left-wing coalition, ended 212 years of center-right governments. Pedro became Colombia’s 61st president with 50.8 percent of the vote in June. Petro defeated anti-corruption movement leader Rudolph Hernandez, who was accused in a corruption case. Gustavo Petro was part of M19, an urban guerrilla group involved in Colombia’s civil war in the 1970s.
