“De la Espriella activates an unprecedented transition in Colombia, amidst political tension”

Bogotá.- The president-elect of Colombia, Abelardo de la Espriella, and the outgoing government of President Gustavo Petro agreed this Wednesday to formally begin the transition process between both administrations, which for the first time will take place without a meeting between the outgoing president and the future leader.

The activation of the process was sealed with a letter sent by the president-elect’s representative, José Manuel Restrepo, to President Petro and the response from the Minister of Finance, Germán Ávila, coordinator of the outgoing government’s transition team, who confirmed that the first meeting between both delegations will be held this Thursday at the Casa de Nariño to define the work methodology and the transition schedule.

In the communication, signed by Restrepo under instructions from De la Espriella, the incoming team requested an “orderly, audited, verifiable, public, responsible, and state-stabilization-oriented” transition, considering that the presidential handover “cannot be understood as a bureaucratic procedure or a political concession, but rather as a constitutional duty“.

Restrepo proposed designating liaisons in each ministry and state entity, establishing a meeting schedule, and ensuring the traceability and publicity of information not subject to legal privilege. Additionally, he reported that the Office of the Inspector General and the Office of the Comptroller General were invited to accompany the process through their preventive functions.

The president-elect’s team specified that the transition will be guided by four objectives: to identify and denounce alleged cases of corruption in the outgoing administration; to rebuild the country’s narratives and institutional agenda; to stabilize the public service and redesign the State to make it more agile and efficient.

In response, Ávila assured that the proposal finds “full correspondence” with the Executive’s commitment to advance an “orderly, transparent, responsible, and respectful of democratic institutions” transition.

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The minister added that the process will be carried out within the constitutional and legal framework, while preserving the Government’s powers until the end of Petro’s term on August 6.

In parallel, former presidential candidate and senator Iván Cepeda defended the call for peaceful civil disobedience he made the day before and asserted—on his X account—that the underlying debate remains De la Espriella’s U.S. nationality, who, in his view, must clarify whether he maintains ties with that country’s security agencies and explain the obligations derived from that citizenship.

“That is why, in this case, I reiterate, appealing to peaceful civil disobedience has full legitimacy,” wrote the senator, who insisted that he maintains his recognition of the election results, but does not renounce questioning the legitimacy of the future president to hold the office.