“We are not here to keep things as they are; the things, the facts, the areas and the water that deserve to be conserved today, we will conserve it, we will take care of it. A government that takes care of things that Colombian society needs,” he promised, according to radio station Caracol.
“It is necessary to change because if we keep the political systems of government, the exclusive elite mentality, violence and this slogan of tearing the peace to pieces, or believe that an unequal and unjust society is a normal society, we will not become one As a nation, change is imperative. What needs to be destroyed in our country is not peace but war. This government will destroy war and violence in Colombia,” he added. “There is a need to change because if we maintain the political systems of government, the exclusive elite mentality, violence and this slogan of tearing the peace apart, or believe that an unequal and unjust society is a normal society, we will have no chance as a nation, change is imperative. What needs to be destroyed in our country is not peace, but war. This government will destroy war and violence in Colombia.” , he added.
Petro adopted the phrase Uribista politicians used in 2018 when they said that if Iván Duque won that year’s elections, he would “tear apart the peace” and the deal signed by former President Juan Manuel Santos and signed by the guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
Petro questioned the peace accords, saying that today they “are measured in dead bodies. Almost every day we measure ourselves by the bodies that turn up here and there.” And he emphasized: “Peace is a word that has already been forgotten in Colombia. It was believed that peace was built a few years ago and they destroyed it.”
For her part, Francia Márquez stressed that “we are taking this important step, but let’s not forget that the task is just beginning”. “We want to celebrate on May 29 that we have our president, Gustavo Petro Urrego, and that for the first time (in the vice presidency) we will have a woman representing the territories, the historically marginalized and oppressed voices,” he said said in reference to the date of the first round of presidential elections.
With this scenario and after the registration of Sergio Fajardo, Federico Gutiérrez of the team for Colombia remains the presidential candidate who must formalize his candidacy. He is expected to go to the registry office next week and announce who his nominee for vice president will be.
Fajardo is Petro’s closest challenger in the polls, entering this final leg as the favorite to lead the coalition Centro Esperanza, while Gutiérrez – by a narrow margin – tops the team’s preferences for Colombia, the alliance leaning more towards the coalition right.