The streets of Bogotá, and many other cities in Colombia, live a bustling and expectant day this Sunday: the long-awaited inauguration of Gustavo Petro as president, which became a party full of emotions that celebrates the “nobodies” and the arrival of a change. Thousands of people gathered early in the entrenched streets of the center of the Colombian capital to access the Plaza de Bolívar -where the ceremony will take place- with the desire not to miss the historic moment that the country will live: the inauguration of the first executive leftist in its history.
In addition, for the first time, the presidential change of command will be an event in which the Colombian people will be able to accompany Petro in an open act, where tens of thousands of people are expected to attend.
The armored center, with several security circles and 15,000 police and military, was filled from early in the morning with banners in support of the “change” that Petro and the elected vice president, Francia Márquez, represent, accompanied by shouts of joy and joy to Despite the long hours of waiting they will have to wait at the ceremony site, which will begin at 3:00 p.m. local time (8:00 p.m. GMT).
“The people don’t give up damn” or a version of the Italian song ‘Bella ciao’ with the play on words “(Iván) Duque chao” resounded in the streets that converge until they reach the Plaza de Bolívar, in which they also It mixes Colombian diversity with the different indigenous peoples parading proudly in their traditional clothing, forming a rainbow of colors that stands up to the clouds that threatened to overwhelm the investiture.
The ceremony is expected to last approximately three hours and will be broadcast around the city -and the country- in different squares and parks where large screens and stages have been set up to follow the event live. Musical and artistic shows will be held throughout the day in these same squares, accompanied by the more than 100,000 people who are expected to come to Bogotá from all over the country to celebrate the diversity of Colombia.
“Start construction from below”
“Today the carnival of life begins. Today there is no presidential inauguration; today life begins to be celebrated, sincere and effective love begins to be part of the heart of Colombians. Today we nobodies put two big ones in power because construction begins from below. The time has come for direct democracy”, celebrated Víctor Jiménez.
In an atypical scene in the center of Bogotá, with empty streets, without vehicles or street vendors, Jiménez walks accompanied by a human-scale reproduction of Márquez and Petro, something that serves him so that everyone who is on his way to the Plaza de Bolívar photos are taken with the heads of the Colombian State.
Armed with large white wings on which he drew messages of optimism and peace, Jaime Humberto García Romero accompanies this Sunday “the proposal of social change by all and for all”, the “social transformation” and “true peace” that are coming hand in hand with the president and vice president who in a few hours will officially assume the reins of Colombia.
Jiménez and García are part of the river of people who walk directly to the heart of Bogotá, who come from all places, even the most distant, such as Putumayo or from where the conflict most plagues the population, such as Cúcuta, in the department of Norte of Santander.
Petro’s team has already anticipated that the transfer of command will be the “opener for Colombia and the world of the beginning of a new way of governing where respect for life in all its expressions will be a priority and work will be done for an inclusive country from and with the territories, a government that is truly committed and close to the citizens”.
In addition to the Colombian people, Petro and Márquez will be accompanied by a dozen Latin American heads of state and by King Felipe VI of Spain, who, together with other dignitaries from other parts of the world, will be able to see first-hand the passage of the presidential sash of the current president, Iván Duque, in an event that opens a new political stage in Colombia.
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