"Thank you all on this undoubtedly historic day," said Gustavo Petro, the virtual president of Colombia, who won the elections this Sunday, June 19, together with his vice-presidential candidate, Francia Márquez, and who emphasized that peace, social justice and care for the environment will be the pillars of his next government at the head of Colombia.
"We are writing a new story for Colombia, for Latin America and for the world. What has happened here today with these 11 million voters who voted, who brought us to this stage and to the government of Colombia, is a change. What is coming here is a real change. A real change," said Petro, who will take office on August 7.
In his first speech after having obtained the majority of votes in this election day, he stressed that he will not betray the people, because there will be a real change that will lead to the "politics of love."
In that sense, I say that your administration will not be one that seeks revenge or creates more hatred, nor will it create sectarianism in Colombian society.
«We need love, understanding the politics of love as a politics of understanding, as a politics of dialogue, a politics of understanding each other. Change also means welcoming hope, the possibility of opening a future and opportunities for all Colombians in hope… change means that the government of hope has arrived.»
During his speech, he thanked his family for their support throughout the campaign, Francia Márquez for the effort put into the work that today bore fruit, all those who are no longer alive but were part of a resistance, and the young people who took to the streets to raise their voices for a better future.
In this regard, from the platform set up in the Movistar Arena in Bogotá, he asked the nation's attorney general to release young people who were imprisoned under false pretenses and who were treated as "bandits."
He also asked the nation's attorney general to reinstate elected mayors to their posts.
He also pointed out that his government will seek to position Colombia as a world power in life, which consists of peace, social justice and environmental justice.
«Peace as the axis of a government of life. Peace would not be right, change would not be right, love would not be right, hope would not be right, this major effort that is being summed up today at the polls would not make sense if we do not lead Colombian society to peace.»
This, he said, means that all those who voted for Rodolfo Hernández, as well as all those who prefer another political party or ideology, "will be welcome at the Nariño Palace to discuss Colombia's problems."
He also pointed out that there will be no political or legal persecution of his opponents, "there will only be respect and dialogue; this is how we will be able to build what a few days ago we called the great national agreement."
This agreement, he said, must begin to be built on the basis of binding regional dialogue to end violent conflicts and build prosperity throughout the country, where regional dialogue becomes a mandatory norm, and which involves peasants, indigenous people, women and young people alike.
These last two sectors, he added, formed a wave that decided to take to the polls to shout for fundamental rights and the reforms that need to be made in the country.
«Fundamental rights cannot remain a dead letter in the Constitution; they must be a part of everyday life and the full guarantee of a living Constitution that can be felt and lived every day. A living Constitution in the fullness of rights.»
"The great national agreement is to build peace, and peace is nothing more than the guarantee of rights so that Colombian society has opportunities. Peace is that someone like me can be president or someone like France can be vice president."
In economic terms, Petro said that capitalism will develop in an appropriate manner, which will allow Colombia to overcome pre-modernity and feudalism.
This will be achieved, he said, through economic pluralism to overcome old forms of slavery and to have a land full of cultivated food, with space for indigenous communities to develop their autonomy and culture, and with a popular economy that can be strengthened through connectivity, education and cheap credit.
He also explained that the country will move towards an economy that allows for the creation of more and better jobs that offer better pay through cooperative and supportive work.
"Only on the basis of economic growth, of production, can we then also redistribute. Therefore, if we want to redistribute so that society is more equal, we have to produce in the countryside, in industry, in tourism, and produce on the basis of knowledge that is produced in the 21st century, a regulated production without affecting human dignity or nature."
In the area of social justice, she explained, it is necessary "that there are no more mothers who have to come here to show the faces of their murdered children."
At that moment, a woman holding a photo of her son took the microphone to ask that there be no more murders of young people, who like her son, were victims of the current and previous governments.
"I welcome you, President, because you are the hope of all of us. You are the hope of us, the poor, the needy, the black, the white, the rich, the poor, in you is the hope. Welcome to Colombia, our country, President," said the woman.
Finally, he stressed that Colombia will make diplomatic policy a priority, and will seek to place the country at the forefront of the world in the fight against climate change.
«It is time to act. We are no longer one of those countries that emit huge amounts of CO2 and greenhouse gases, but we are here next to one of the largest sponges that consume greenhouse gases that other countries dump into the Amazon rainforest.
In this regard, he noted that his government will pay special attention to the creation of clean energy, which will allow for an energy transition with enormous advantages for the nation.
Petro reported that, after his victory, presidents of various Latin American countries contacted him to congratulate him, which allows, he said, "we can now propose, based on this victory that the Colombian people have given us, a dialogue in the Americas without exclusions of any people, of any nation in all the diversity of America.
He also stressed that "it is time to sit down with the United States government and discuss what it means that throughout this American continent that we share, it emits, like almost no other country, greenhouse gases and here we assume them and absorb them from our Amazon rainforest."
"I propose to the United States government and all governments in America to accelerate the steps of the energy transition and the steps of building a decarbonized economy, for an economy of life throughout America."
"Peace is possible in Colombia, dreams can come true, dreams of justice and equality," said Petro.
"Long live freedom, long live Colombia, world power of life! My name is Gustavo Petro and I am your president! I love you very much Colombia, thank you!" were his last words in his first speech as virtual president of the Republic of Colombia.
This note was produced with the support of a group of journalists covering the first round elections in Colombia, sponsored by the organization Global Exchange in collaboration with Peninsula 360 Press.
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