Left-leaning leaders congratulate Mexico, Argentina and Chile on the ‘first leftist president’
‘Segmentation’ Venezuela’s Maduro also expects a “new era”… U.S. “continues cooperation”
When Gustavo Petro, 62, won the Colombian presidential election, the first leftist candidate to win, the leaders of Latin America with similar ideologies welcomed it all at once.
After Petro’s victory in the Colombian presidential runoff on the 19th (local time) was confirmed, Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador congratulated him on Twitter early, saying, “Petro’s victory is historic.”
“Colombian conservatives have always been stubborn and tough,” he said, referring to the 1948 murder of a left-wing Colombian presidential candidate and the conflict that followed.
“(Colombian novelist) Gabriel Garcia Marquez once said to a friend, ‘This country is ruined’.
Today’s victory is the end of this curse and the dawn of a noble brotherhood.”
Center-left president López Obrador, during the Colombian presidential election, cheered for Petro that he was fighting a “dirty war” on a conservative offensive, which drew backlash from Colombia’s current centre-right regime.
Argentina’s President Alberto Fernandez, another center-left leader, also said to Petro, “Your victory proves democracy and secures the road to a united Latin America where solidarity is now desperately needed.”
Chile’s centre-left president, Gabriel Borric, who took office this year, said on Twitter the day before, “I just talked to Petro to congratulate him on his victory.”
Other left-leaning leaders in Latin America, including Peruvian President Pedro Castillo, Bolivian President Luis Arse, and Honduras President Siomara Castro, were quick to congratulate them.
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, who is Colombia’s neighbor and ‘close friend’, also immediately joined the celebration.
He tweeted congratulations on Petro’s “historic victory” and said, “The voices of the Colombian people who have taken to the streets to defend democracy and peace have been answered.
A new era can be seen in the brotherhood.”
Ivan Duque’s current Colombian government does not recognize President Maduro along with the United States and Europe, and Maduro cut all diplomatic and political ties with Colombia in 2019.
Ecuador President Guillermo Lasso, now one of the right-wing leaders in Latin America, who has become a minority in Latin America, also congratulated Petro over the phone the day before, saying, “I reiterated our government’s will to strengthen friendship and cooperation between the two countries.”
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Tony Blincoln tweeted, “I congratulate the people of Colombia for reaffirming the power of democracy by exercising their right to vote. “He said.
/yunhap news
