Former opposition leader Gustavo Petro was formally sworn in as president of Colombia in the capital Bogota on Sunday.
The ceremony was filled with symbolism stressing the historic nature of Petro’s election in June.
Vice-President Francia Marquez swore not only to honor the constitution, but also the ancestors of Colombia’s first black female vice-president in history.
Immediately after being sworn in, Petro ordered the presidential guard to bring the sword of Simon Bolivar, the general who liberated Colombia from colonial rule, and was at one point stolen by the guerrilla group M-19.
The president was a member of this guerrilla group until its demobilization in 1990.
After his ceremonial speech praising the new president, Congress President Roy Barreras ordered a recess to allow the presidential guard to bring Bolivar’s sword from the presidential palace.
After the arrival of the sword on the stage at the Simon Bolivar square where the ceremony was held, Petro addressed the nation as president for the first time.
In the same sentence in which Petro welcomed foreign leaders, the president welcomed a street vendor who was invited to the ceremony.
The president explained he asked the presidential guard to bring the historical sword as a symbol of the country’s liberation from oppression and “a second chance” for Colombia.
It’s the time of change. Our future isn’t written. We are the owners of the hope and the paper and we can write it together, in peace and united.
President Gustavo Petro
Petro additionally promised that his four-year term would be dominated by a “politics of love” and dedicated to peace.
The president stressed that peace would only be possible by ending poverty and the so-called “War on Drugs.”
The time has come to change counternarcotics policies in the world in order to permit life and not generate death.
President Gustavo Petro
Petro vowed an end to political persecution and said that the State’s intelligence services would seek to eliminate corruption.
