Bogota.- The President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, announced this Sunday that he does not authorize the inauguration of his successor, Abelardo de la Espriella, to be held in a military garrison, as is the wish of the president-elect.
Petro said -on his X account- that he is the “supreme commander of the military forces” until August 7, the day De la Espriella will take office, and therefore “the military and police barracks” will be under his orders until his successor takes office.
“Then, in the exercise of my constitutional and legal powers, I order that no military establishment shall be used for the inauguration of a president of the Republic of Colombia,” stated -on X- Petro, who has not recognized De la Espriella’s electoral victory.
The leader and founder of the political movement Defenders of the Homeland has expressed his intention to be sworn in as president at a military garrison in order to, as he stated, “honor the true heroes of the homeland, police officers and soldiers.”
No precedent for a possession as De la Espriella wants it
De la Espriella, who during the electoral campaign showed his closeness to the military establishment, even with the military salute and the slogan “Firm for the homeland!”, wants to make clear from the beginning the weight that the Military Forces will have in his Government.
More Read
To that end, the president-elect’s team asked Congress on Friday to evaluate the possibility of the presidential inauguration taking place at a military unit, preferably outside of Bogotá, a project that is a subject of discussion in the country due to the logistical and even security inconveniences involved in moving hundreds of congresspeople, heads of State or Government, and other invited authorities.
“The transfer of power to the new president is under the laws of the Republic and the constitution, and those rules establish that the president is sworn in before Congress in a plenary session,” pointed out Petro today, who has no contact whatsoever with De la Espriella.
We recommend reading:
More Read
The outgoing president added that “in the barracks, laws are not made; security actions are carried out for the defense of the people and their lives.”
The Colombian Constitution establishes that the presidential inauguration must take place before Congress and has traditionally been held in the Elliptical Hall of the Capitol, although the last inaugurations have taken place in the Plaza de Bolívar, in the center of Bogotá, and there are no recent precedents for a different venue, such as the one De la Espriella wants.
