THE SWORD OF BOLIVAR IS WIELDED AGAIN BY THE PEOPLE OF LATIN AMERICA

BY DAN KOVALIK August 19, 2022 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.