Bogotá.- The outgoing president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, insisted this Friday that he will not authorize the use of any garrison or military installation for the inauguration of “any civil power official,” in reference to the ceremony scheduled for next August 7, when the president-elect, Abelardo de la Espriella, will take office.
“I do not give permission to any garrison or military establishment to enlist (…) for any possession of any civil power official in Colombia,” the president stated during the official ceremony in which he returned the sword of the Liberator Simón Bolívar to the Quinta de Bolívar House Museum, in the center of Bogotá.
Petro added that “neither the Army, nor the Navy, nor the National Police (…) should prepare a single chair or a single space in any military installation for civilian inaugurations,” in response to De la Espriella’s desire to assume power in front of the military at a garrison in Popayán, capital of the troubled department of Cauca (southwestern Colombia).
The controversy over possession
The speech was preceded by a symbolic march of more than a kilometer from the Casa de Nariño, the seat of the Executive branch, to the museum. Upon arriving, Petro handed over the sword and reclaimed it as an emblem of freedom and democracy.
“Bolívar’s sword cannot be at the service of fascism but of the Republic, of freedoms and of rights,” asserted Petro, who also stated that the weapon “must be guarding the flag and guarding the Republic.”
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Before becoming president-elect of Colombia, Abelardo de la Espriella promised that his inauguration would take place at a military battalion in Popayán. An act with which he seeks to pay tribute to the Military Forces.
Senate approval
For that promise to materialize, several procedures provided for in the Constitution must be carried out, which establishes that the president takes office before Congress. Because of this, it is up to the Legislature to authorize the relocation of the ceremony outside its traditional headquarters in Bogotá.
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The Senate approved this week, with 55 votes in favor and 32 against, that the presidential inauguration be held in the department of Cauca. However, the definition of the exact location remained pending as the session was adjourned due to a lack of quorum.
The proposal seeks to move the inauguration outside of the capitol for the first time, to one of the departments most affected by the armed conflict and with a strong presence of illegal groups.
Petro recalled this Friday that he will remain the supreme commander of the Military Forces until the “last second” of his term. In addition, he reiterated that, as long as he remains in office, he will not authorize the use of military facilities for the inauguration.
