Gustavo Petro, the first leftist president of Colombia, who took over on August 7, started his inaugural address with a quote from the ending lines of “One Hundred Years of Solitude” by Gabriel García Márquez, "Everything written there was, and has and always will be, unrepeatable because the lineages condemned to one hundred years of solitude did not have a second chance on earth". Petro said, “our second chance begins today”
How does he propose to go about it? He said. “ I will dialogue with everyone, without exceptions or exclusions. Whatever their name is, wherever they come from. The important thing is not where we come from, but where we are going. "Dialogue will be my method, agreements my goal”. This is in contrast to his oligarchic predecessors who polarized the country with ideology and privilege. The conservative rulers of the country had systematically persecuted and stigmatized the left which had reacted by unleashing violence. Colombia has shed too much blood in the past in ideological and narcotics civil wars. It was the only Latin American country which had the largest war by guerrillas, who controlled almost half the territory at one time. The country is crying out for peace and reconciliation.
The Gringos have spoiled the image of Colombia in the name of their so-called war on drugs and portrayed Colombians as villains in the Netflix serial “ Narcos”. This is pure bullshit. The villains are the millions of Gringo consumers who spend billions of dollars to consume narcotics. Drugs are simply and clearly a demand-driven and consumer-driven business originating from the US. It is also a multi-billion dollar business for DEA and the US corporations which have a vested interest in “one hundred years of drug war business”.
Under Petro, Colombia will no longer be a sucker for the American drug war business. He has made it clear that ending the drug war will be an administrative priority. He said, “ It is time for a new international convention that accepts that the war on drugs has failed—and failed resoundingly. The war on drugs has led states to commit crimes”.
Petro will legalise cannabis by allowing cultivation. He wants Colombia to become a competitive cannabis market, like Canada’s legal industry. He is also interested in exploring the idea of exporting cannabis to other countries where the plant is legal.
Petro has proposed reforms in taxation, health, education, pension, labour laws and land distribution. He has prioritised investment in education, health, drinking water, irrigation districts and local road infrastructure. He has clarified that taxes will not be confiscatory but fair taking into account the enormous social inequality of the country.
Petro is creating a Ministry of Equality under Vice President Francia Márquez, the first black woman to reach such a high position in the Colombian government.
There is concern about Petro's plan to stop new concessions for oil drilling, given the fact that oil is a major export earning foreign exchange. But Petro is pragmatic and will allow ongoing oil production and exports. He is, of course, committed to climate change mitigation and reduction of fossil fuels.
Some conservative critics have called him a dogmatic radical and Colombian Chavez. But the Colombian conservatives are too strong to let Petro run away with any radical disruptions. So Petro knows that he has to be moderate and realistic to survive his term and achieve some of his goals.
Petro has normalised bilateral relations with Venezuela by appointing an ambassador to the government of President Maduro. This is a huge set-back for the US which was using Colombia as the frontline for its regime change operation in Venezuela
Petro has called for Latin American integration, moving away from the pro-US policies of his predecessors. This will certainly give a second chance to the process of integration of Latin America which was started in the first decade of this century. This process got derailed by the pro-US centre-right presidents of Colombia, Mexico and Brazil in the last four years. With the expected victory of Lula in the elections to be held in October in Brazil, the region is set to restart its integration efforts and assert it's autonomy in international affairs, free from the hegemony of the US.
I agree with President Petro… Colombia has certainly got a second chance... to become politically more stable and economically more prosperous in the coming years.
The author is an expert in Latin American affairs
