Gustavo Petro’s opponents worry he’ll try to concentrate power, but public frustration due to unrealistic expectations are more likely to stall his agenda.
On Sunday, Colombia began a new political chapter with the inauguration of Gustavo Petro, the country’s first-ever leftist president and a former guerilla. Observers have differed widely on what Petro’s presidency may mean for Colombia and its democracy.
To many of Petro’s supporters, his inauguration symbolizes a historic opportunity for Colombia to finally address its deep-seated challenges. Despite its relative economic and political stability over the past decades, Colombia remains one of the most troubled countries in Latin America. Discontent reached an all-time high prior to the election, leading to repeated waves of protests between 2019 and 2021. Factors driving discontent include crippling socioeconomic inequality, a lack of public services, massive rule-of-law problems and organized crime leading to the forced internal displacement of almost 80,000 Colombians in 2021, rising public debt, high youth unemployment, and high levels of deforestation in the….
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