Colombia’s outgoing President Petro says he will give public farewell July 20

BOGOTA - Outgoing Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on July 5 he plans to give a public farewell on July 20, as he called for mass protests and the continuation of social reforms.

“I invite you this July 20th to accompany the public movement, and after their parade, to hear my farewell as the head of state of Colombia,” Petro said in a post on X.

The highly unusual move comes ahead of the transition of power to president-elect Abelardo de la Espriella, a hard-right candidate backed by US President Donald Trump who won a narrow victory over Petro’s political heir, Ivan Cepeda, in June.

“We will not do it on Aug 6th or 7th, it’s a tragic date. We will do it on July 20th in every public square in Colombia,” Petro said.

Petro also called for the “general mobilisation to shout for independence and the continuation of social reforms” that same day, which coincides with a national holiday and the inauguration of the new Congress, of which the left maintains the largest bloc.

De la Espriella, who holds US and Colombian nationality, has described himself as a “staunch enemy” of the left and vowed to bring Petro and his allies before US courts.

The president-elect has also taken a hard line on crime, as well as promising to boost private investment and slash the size of the state by 40 per cent.

De la Espriella decried calls for civil disobedience from his rival camp as “nothing more than... urban terrorism.”

“There will be no privileges for the violent here, nor any leniency for those who seek to defy the constitutional order,” he said on X on July 5.

The president-elect has rejected Petro’s efforts to secure a peace deal with armed guerrilla groups, saying on July 5 that he will revoke the “perks that Petro gave to the narco-terrorists.” AFP