The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, banned the president-elect, Abelardo De la Espriella, from the extreme right, from taking office at a military installation and ordered that no Armed Forces units be used for the ceremony scheduled for August 7.
The decision was announced after De la Espriella asked the new Congress, which begins the legislature on July 20, for authorization to hold the inauguration in a military garrison. Colombian legislation establishes that the president must take an oath before Congress meeting in plenary session in Bogotá.
In a publication on the social network X, Petro stated that the 1991 Constitution determines the location of the ceremony and recalled that all presidents took office in Congress. “As I said, amidst the glitter of the new government not voted for by the majority of the people, the law says where the seat of Congress is, and it is in a session of Congress where the new president must take office, just as I and everyone else did”, wrote the president.
The president declared that, as long as he remains in office, he will continue as supreme commander of the Armed Forces and that the barracks will remain under his authority until his successor takes office.
“The military and police barracks are under my orders until the moment the new president takes the oath and, therefore, until that moment I am the supreme commander of the military forces. No officer salutes a civilian, except when this is his supreme commander.”
Petro also announced that he has determined that no military installation will host the ceremony. “In the exercise of my constitutional and legal powers, I order that no military establishment be used for the inauguration of a president of the Republic of Colombia”, he ratified.
The president also stated that the transmission of power must occur in accordance with the laws and the Constitution and that these norms determine that the head of state takes office before Congress in a plenary session. According to Petro, “in the barracks they do not make laws, they carry out security actions, to defend the people and their lives”. He added that, as long as he remains in the Presidency, he will defend “the laws and Constitution of a sovereign people”.
In the same publication, Petro once again questioned the result of the second round of elections and stated that “national sovereignty was broken by foreigners who usurped the people’s right to choose freely”. The president also wrote that “Bolívar dies again”.
Suspension of transition
Abelardo de la Espriella determined, last week, the suspension of the transition process with Gustavo Petro’s government. In a post on the X network, Espriella said he instructed the vice-president-elect, José Manuel Restrepo, to stop the transition, accusing the Petro administration of “destroying Colombia”.
“My duty is to protect the nation’s interests and guarantee a serious and transparent transition that serves all Colombians, never legitimizing disaster or disrespect for the constitutional order,” stated the president-elect.
In the post, Abelardo stated that, in the midst of the transition process, he had found evidence of corruption and “targeted contracts” during the Petro government, but did not give details. The inauguration is scheduled for the 7th.
Petro reacted, on the same social network, calling De la Espriella “unprepared”. According to him, the transfer of power will continue “before the people” until midnight on August 6th.
Source: www.brasildefato.com.br
