[For the first time since the liberation of Colombia from Spain by
Simón Bolívar, Colombia now had leaders who promised to radically
transform Colombia, and with it, all of Latin America. ]
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THE SWORD OF BOLIVAR IS WIELDED AGAIN BY THE PEOPLE OF LATIN AMERICA
 
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Daniel Kovalik
August 19, 2022
Covert Action Magazine
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_ For the first time since the liberation of Colombia from Spain by
Simón Bolívar, Colombia now had leaders who promised to radically
transform Colombia, and with it, all of Latin America. _

, [Source: Photo courtesy of Dan Kovalik]

 

On August 7, 2022, Gustavo Petro and his running mate, Francia
Márquez, were inaugurated as the President and Vice-President of the
Republic of Colombia. This was one of the most historic events in
Latin America for at least a century.

For the first time since the liberation of Colombia from Spain by
Simón Bolívar, Colombia now had leaders who promised to radically
transform Colombia, and with it, all of Latin America. I was fortunate
enough to be present at the inauguration ceremony which was just as
exciting as one could have hoped for.

As I was told by Colombians while in Bogotá, this was the first time
in memory that throngs of people came to Plaza Bolívar to celebrate
the inauguration of a new President and Vice-President.

This makes sense, for after all, this was an inauguration of
progressive leaders following years of right-wing rulers like Álvaro
Uribe, Juan Manuel Santos and Iván Duque, all of whom were closely
tied and beholden to the paramilitary death squads.

It was Gustavo Petro, as Senator, who exposed the “paramilitary
scandal” which involved numerous Colombian politicians at all
levels. This included politicians embedded with the paramilitaries
that haunted Colombia and killed popular leaders—leaders who
threatened the oligarchs’ hold on economic and political power. Now,
Petro and Márquez are taking charge to try to break the
oligarch/paramilitary hold over their country.

[A picture containing text, sky, outdoor, people Description
automatically generated]

It was an uncharacteristically sunny afternoon in usually-cloudy
Bogotá, and this added to the already-festive atmosphere of the
event.

The thousands of people who came to Plaza Bolívar were boisterous and
cheered as Francia Márquez and then Gustavo Petro and his family
entered the Plaza.

The crowd had a mind of its own, cheering the guests they liked, like
the newly-elected President of Honduras, Xiamora Castro; the leftist
President of Bolivia, Luis Arce Catacora; and the wife of Mexico’s
progressive President, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (“AMLO”).

Meanwhile, they loudly booed the reactionary President of Ecuador,
Guillermo Lasso, and then followed up the boos by chanting the last
name of his left-wing predecessor, Rafael Correa.

Because the U.S. sent a low-level delegation headed by Samantha Power,
the head of USAID, the U.S. delegation was not even announced from the
podium and was not seated on the stage, and therefore, the crowd never
got a chance to react to the guests from the U.S.

Quite symbolically, Spain sent its King—yes, Spain still has a
King—instead of an elected official to represent the country at the
inauguration. King Felipe VI would eventually be treated to a
spectacle to which he reacted with great offense.

Gustavo Petro, the former M-19 guerrilla, was sworn in as President by
the President of the Colombian Congress, Roy Barreras. And, to the
great delight of the crowd, Petro was presented with the Presidential
sash by María José Pizarro, the daughter of a former M-19 comrade
who had been killed after being demobilized.

Petro then raised his fist in defiance to the crowd which reacted with
resounding applause and with the chant, “No Mas Guerra!” (“No
More War!”). Petro then swore in the new Vice-President and crowd
favorite, Francia Márquez, an Afro-Colombian activist who started out
as a domestic servant.

[Gustavo Petro sworn in as Colombia's first leftist president :]

Gustavo Petro giving raised fist as he proclaims: “No Mas Guerra!”

This was followed by a moving video presentation of photos taken by
Colombia’s famous war photographer, Jesús Abad Colorado. The video
was accompanied by the powerful singing of Afro-Colombian opera star,
Betty Garces. By the end of the video presentation, there wasn’t a
dry eye in the Plaza. The one notable part of the video which elicited
happy applause from the audience was a photo of Manuel Marulanda, the
founder of the FARC guerrillas.

[Colombian soprano breaking opera 'molds']

Betty Garces

After a speech by Roy Barreras, Gustavo Petro took to the microphone
and did something never been done before—he called for the sword of
the Liberator, Simón Bolívar, to be brought to the stage. Petro
stated, “This is an order of the President and popular mandate.”

This was an incredibly symbolic gesture by Petro. First of all, this
demand was made in spite of the opposition, and indeed in defiance, of
the Colombian military which will certainly stand as a great obstacle
to Petro’s attempt to transform Colombia.

[The first (and sudden) order of the president of Colombia Gustavo
Petro was that the sword of Bolívar be brought to the Plaza de
Bolívar.]

Gustavo Petro at inauguration with Bolivar’s sword.

In addition, Petro himself has a personal history with this very
sword. Back in the day, he and his comrades in the M-19 guerrillas had
stolen the sword from the National Museum as a symbolic protest of the
Colombian government and military’s repression.

[Petro recuerda sus días como guerrillero antes de firmar la paz -
Las2orillas.co]

Gustavo Petro in his younger days as an M-19 guerrilla.

They stated back then that they would return the sword when Colombia
was truly free and liberated. In the end, they returned it short of
this when they signed a peace agreement with the government that
allowed Petro to become the politician who would eventually be
President. Now, Petro was calling for the sword back, demonstrating
that liberation was now at hand.

And, after an unprecedented break in the proceedings to allow for
Petro’s order to be carried out, four guardsmen in formal red attire
were seen on the video screen outside the Plaza slowly carrying the
glass case with the sword of Bolívar towards the proceedings.

The crowd cheered and then went wild as the sword was carried onto the
stage and set in the center next to Petro. Everyone stood for this
procession with the exception of King Felipe VI of Spain who remained
seated to show his dismay at the sword, which had defeated Spain
exactly 203 years before in the Independence Battle of Boyacá, being
brought out as a symbol of this defeat. I can only speak for myself in
saying that this was one of the most dramatic and moving political and
historic events I have ever witnessed in my decades of travel.

[A large crowd of people in front of a stage Description automatically
generated with medium confidence]

Petro then gave his inauguration speech in which he set forth his
ten-point plan for Colombia, and indeed for Latin America and the
Caribbean. This plan, as he laid it out, is as follows:

* Creating a true peace in Colombia and a new “Government of
Life” to replace the current government of death;
* Creating a “policy of care” for the elderly, children, people
with disabilities and the most marginalized in society;
* Creating a Ministry of Equality with Francia Márrquez as Minister
to achieve gender parity in Colombia.
* Dialoguing with everyone in Colombian society, “without
exceptions or exclusions,” to unite the country and create a Great
National Accord;
* Governing the country by listening and being responsive to the
Colombian people;
* Defending Colombia from the violence which has haunted the nation
for so many decades;
* Fighting and having a “zero tolerance” for corruption;
* Protecting the soil, subsoil, seas and rivers from environmental
degradation and converting Colombia into a “world power of life.”
* Developing national industry, the popular economy and the
Colombian countryside while prioritizing peasant women, small
entrepreneurs, farmers and artisans;
* Complying with the Colombian Constitution, and especially Article
1, which states: “Colombia is a social State under the rule of law,
organized as a unitary, decentralized Republic, with autonomy of its
territorial entities, democratic, participatory and pluralistic,
founded on respect for human dignity, on the work and solidarity of
the people who make it up and on the prevalence of the general
interest.”

I thought as I heard this plan being laid out how visionary this
leader, Gustavo Petro, is as compared to the petty, divisive and
mediocre politicians in my own country.

But I also thought how daunting this plan is; and how was it going to
be carried out. Petro and Márquez will be opposed by the powerful
Colombian military and it’s paramilitary allies, the entrenched
right-wing political establishment and by the United States which
fights tooth and nail to prevent Colombia–a NATO partner and the
U.S.’s staunchest political and military ally in the region–from
leaving its orbit of control.

Petro and Márquez need and deserve our solidarity to ensure that they
will succeed.

And if they do, not only Colombia, but the entire Hemisphere will be
transformed. The U.S.’s last beachhead will become an independent
and liberated nation, united with its Latin American neighbors, just
as Simón Bolívar had intended.

_Daniel Kovalik graduated from Columbia University School of Law in
1993. He then served as in-house counsel for the United Steelworkers,
AFL-CIO (USW) until 2019.  While with the USW, he worked on Alien
Tort Claims Act cases against The Coca-Cola Company, Drummond and
Occidental Petroleum—cases arising out of egregious human rights
abuses in Colombia._

_CovertAction Magazine is a non-profit organization, supported by
readers who trust our reporting and believe in our mission.  Please
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* Colombia
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* Latin America
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