Colombian President Gustavo Petro has closed ranks in support of Bernardo Arévalo in Guatemala. His diplomatic boldness, which on other occasions has caused tension and criticism, in this case earned him a standing ovation from the Central American country on the way to Davos (Switzerland), where he will take part in the World Economic Forum starting this Tuesday. The umpteenth attempt to torpedo the handover of command, which could only be completed in the early hours of Monday morning, failed…
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Colombian President Gustavo Petro has closed ranks in support of Bernardo Arévalo in Guatemala. His diplomatic boldness, which on other occasions has caused tension and criticism, in this case earned him a standing ovation from the Central American country on the way to Davos (Switzerland), where he will take part in the World Economic Forum starting this Tuesday. The umpteenth attempt to torpedo the handover of command, which could only take place in the early hours of Monday morning, meant that some of the international guests at the ceremony had to leave before the swearing-in. Not the Colombian who kept his promise not to leave until Arévalo took office.
“Applause that’s worth it. “Battles that need to be fought,” Petro wrote in a message along with video of the moment of ovation on X – formerly Twitter – his favorite social network. “My personal position is the same as always: the fight for democracy from every angle and in many ways. That's why we launched a solidarity campaign, which in a way helped ensure that the destabilization that was going on had no impact,” he told the press from Guatemala City, where he had previously left the possibility of cancellation in the air Travel to Davos if circumstances required.
Petro, the first left-wing president of what is now Colombia, is aligned with the anti-corruption message of Arévalo and his Semilla movement. A year ago, before Arévalo was even considered as a candidate for the August elections, he had already taken a clear stance towards the Central American country when the Guatemalan prosecutor interviewed unexpectedly indicted his Defense Minister Iván Velásquez. “We will defend him, he will continue to be our minister. If Guatemala insists on arresting righteous men, then we have nothing to do with Guatemala,” he said at the time. Although he called the Colombian ambassador for consultations, the suggestion of breaking off relations with the government of Alejandro Giammattei did not materialize.
Minister Velásquez, Petro claimed at the time, was persecuted by the interests he touched when he led the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) between 2013 and 2017, which exposed the depravity of the Central American country's political class. In this UN-sponsored position, Velásquez destroyed dozens of corrupt structures and came into conflict with many Guatemalan powers. He stepped on a lot of calluses but was very respected.
Prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche's accusation was presented as progress in the investigation into the case of the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht. The same prosecutor, questioned in his country and identified by the United States as a corrupt actor, requested in December the annulment of the elections that elected Arévalo, which the Organization of American States (OAS) considered simply an “attempted coup state.” . . Since Semilla's candidate had won the elections, the public prosecutor's office, led by Consuelo Porras, tried to torpedo the inauguration of the elected president by initiating several legal proceedings. From Spaniard Pedro Sánchez to Chilean Gabriel Boric, the international community condemned these maneuvers as an attack on democracy and supported Arévalo, but few embraced the Guatemalan cause with as much passion as Petro.
Petro's rise to power a year and a half ago marked the path of the new Latin American left. His speech in favor of the fight against climate change, a rethinking of global anti-drug policy and the search for peace positioned him internationally at the beginning of his term in office. Later, his hyperactivity on social networks undermined Colombian diplomacy. Guatemala somehow allowed him to reassert himself after several missteps.
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The Latin American left warns of the risks of a politicized justice system, which varies greatly from country to country. Reports of legal disputes, ostracism or attempted coups such as those suffered by Lula da Silva in Brazil have clouded regional politics. “Arévalo is progressive, and Petro feels identified with what progressivism considers to be the greatest threat to democracy, namely legal warfare, and believes that Arévalo has become a victim of lawfare,” says Mauricio Jaramillo, professor in International Relations from the Universidad del Rosario, in Bogotá.
Petro wants to be a regional leader, he adds, and whenever constitutional tensions arise, he takes the opportunity to stand out as a defender of democracy. He also did this in the case of Pedro Castillo in Peru, who was fired after a clumsy self-coup attempt, but this position triggered an avalanche of criticism and recriminations at the time. The notoriety he had in Guatemala allowed him to reorganize his character in Latin America.
According to analyst Sergio Guzmán of the consulting firm Colombia Risk Analysis, it worked well to put Colombia's weight behind the legitimacy of Arévalo's election without hesitation. “I welcome what Petro did in Guatemala, but we need to see his democratic views in a broad spectrum,” he clarifies. “Petro will also be judged by how democratic he is at home and how responsive he is to the legitimate demands of the opposition,” he added. For now, the Colombian president can point to a timely diplomatic success.
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