Colombia experiences this Friday the presidential mandate transfer between Gustavo Petro and Abelardo de la Espriella. With broken bridges between the outgoing and incoming governments, the 48-year-old far-right lawyer, winner over left-wing senator Iván Cepeda in the June 21 elections, receives the presidential sash in a ceremony that usually takes place at the National Capitol. This time, in an unprecedented move, the incoming Executive has decided to move it to Cali, the third-largest city in the country. Congress members have traveled to the capital of Valle del Cauca to attend the inauguration, with the notable absence of the legislators from the Historic Pact, Petro’s party. Most of that group will also be in Cali, but in popular demonstrations, while Cepeda led another in Barranquilla. The legislative session began around 2:40 p.m., with the mandatory roll call for any Congress meeting.
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Official delegations from several countries around the world arrived in Cali on Thursday afternoon. Among those present are the president of Argentina, Javier Milei, the president of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, the president of Chile, José Antonio Kast, and the president of Paraguay, Santiago Peña. Joining them is King Felipe VI, as head of state of Spain. There will also be representation from Panama, Curaçao, Costa Rica, Honduras, Israel, and Sweden, as well as some delegates from the U.S. government and Congress. Over the past week, Cali’s mayor, Alejandro Éder, and the governor of Valle del Cauca, Dilian Francisca Toro, have acted as hosts and taken several measures to shield the city, a target of serious violent attacks in recent years.
Jennifer Pedraza from the opposition at De la Espriella’s event: “Without rights there is no homeland or miracle”
Although the left-wing opposition of the Historic Pact did not travel to the event in Cali for the presidential inauguration, another left-wing representative, Jennifer Pedraza from the Dignity and Commitment party, did arrive there. Critical of Gustavo Petro, she has already committed to exercising political oversight over Abelardo de la Espriella as well, but attends the event in Cali as a way to recognize the millions who voted for the far-right candidate. “To those who voted for this government, I say I will defend your rights,” she says in a message in front of the arena at the University of Cali. And to those who did not vote, she added, she promised to oppose, stating “I am firmly convinced that without rights there is no homeland, nor miracle.”
The public awaits De la Espriella: “How are we? Firm for the Homeland!”
Abelardo de la Espriella’s campaign slogans accompany him as he waits to reach the stage where the inauguration will take place. “How are we?” the audience asks, which includes congress members, former presidents, businessmen, and other guests. “Firm for the Homeland!” several respond. In front of them, a huge screen says: “Welcome to the Miracle Homeland”
Senate and House say there is a quorum: there will be a religious praise before De la Espriella’s speech
The legislature has started the inauguration act, with sufficient quorum of both senators and representatives. The president of the Senate, Honorio Henríquez, will administer the oath to swear in the new president, and then he will be able to say a few words. Outside the protocol, there will be a religious praise before Abelardo de la Espriella delivers his speech. It is another religious nod from the new leader who has promised a “miracle homeland.”
Abelardo de la Espriella’s first speech as president of Colombia will be at a military battalion in Cali, where he will also swear in his ministers
After the inauguration ceremony before Congress, President Abelardo de la Espriella will head to the Pichincha battalion in Cali, where he will swear in his Cabinet of ministers and recognize the troops as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces.
Iván Cepeda confirms that the left will form an alternative cabinet to De la Espriella’s
Senator Iván Cepeda, loser of the second round against Abelardo de la Espriella, has confirmed from Barranquilla that the left will form an alternative cabinet to the incoming Executive to oppose it. “We will create the cabinet for life, which with the participation of current ministers will allow us to challenge the Government policies of De la Espriella with solid arguments. We will not respond to hatred with hatred, nor to authoritarianism with violence; we will respond with the conscious and organized strength of the people,” he said in his speech. The Historic Pact has announced its intention to create an “alternative” – or shadow – cabinet to improve political oversight of the next Executive. This decision is justified by the purpose of strengthening political action, projecting its government vocation, and guiding the construction of a democratic alternative for the country, the party stated in the announcement making it public. Read here a report on the alternative cabinet proposal, an unprecedented figure in Colombia.
The legislature begins the roll call: Abelardo de la Espriella’s inauguration starts
The new president is always sworn in by the legislature, and congress members are already preparing for the key moment of the day. The Senate and House leadership tables have started calling the roll of legislators who traveled to Cali for the inauguration of Abelardo de la Espriella as the new president of Colombia. The largest caucus, from Petro’s Historic Pact party, which called for protests in Cali, Bogotá, and Barranquilla, is absent from the chamber.
The Char clan shakes hands with Infantino
The mayor of Barranquilla, Alex Char, traveled to Cali for Abelardo de la Espriella’s presidential inauguration, where he was able to meet one of the star guests: Gianni Infantino, FIFA president, who is seeking re-election soon. Char gave him a jersey of the Barranquilla football team, Junior, which is owned by his family. Alejandro Domínguez, president of CONMEBOL, who has already expressed support for Infantino’s re-election, was also present at the meeting. “I have to come to the final,” Infantino said about the South American Cup final to be held in November in Barranquilla.
Infantino’s arrival in Barranquilla will be another symbol for the city, which the new president has already declared an alternate capital of Colombia.
José Manuel Restrepo arrives at the USC Arena for the inauguration
Vice president-elect José Manuel Restrepo has arrived at the USC Arena, the auditorium within the Santiago de Cali University campus that will serve as the venue for this Friday’s presidential inauguration. Restrepo arrived with his wife and children and gave brief statements to the media while walking on the red carpet laid out outside the auditorium to receive guests to the ceremony. The inauguration act is scheduled to begin at three in the afternoon.
Political opposition
The Colombian left begins its resistance against the new president: “Abelardo de la Espriella will be a United States agent”
The Colombian left declared itself in resistance this Friday after the end of Gustavo Petro’s four years in power. “We will fight to the limit and beyond to preserve the achievements we have reached in these years,” proclaimed senator and former presidential candidate Iván Cepeda during a morning event in Barranquilla. “Resistance! Resistance! Resistance!” his supporters responded. Neither he nor the other congress members of the Historic Pact, Gustavo Petro’s party, will attend the far-right Abelardo de la Espriella’s inauguration in Cali in the afternoon. Cepeda reiterated that he does not recognize the legitimacy of the new leader, arguing that he has not renounced his U.S. citizenship. “There is an insurmountable incompatibility with the supreme duty to represent exclusively the sovereignty and interests of the Colombian people,” justified the former presidential candidate about a fact that is not illegal.
Read the full note here.
The different heads of state who will be present at De la Espriella’s inauguration
Abelardo de la Espriella’s inauguration this Friday in Cali has gathered several presidents and heads of state from countries close to Colombia. Among the star guests are Ecuadorian president Daniel Noboa, Dominican president Luis Abinader, Argentine president Javier Milei, Panamanian José Raúl Mulino, and Paraguayan Santiago Peña. Also attending will be Spain’s King Felipe VI and a delegation from the U.S. government and Congress.
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Aída Quilcué confirms that the left will make a “peaceful opposition” to the new government
Representative Aída Quilcué, vice-presidential running mate of former candidate Iván Cepeda, participates in the opposition gathering in Cali and warns from there that they will exercise peaceful opposition to Abelardo de la Espriella’s government. “Those who call us terrorists and criminals are because they are the terrorists.” The representative did not speak on the main stage where the Historic Pact caucus spoke but gave statements upon leaving the Puerto Resistencia area in southern Cali.
Milei receives Honoris Causa doctorate at Santiago de Cali University
Argentina’s president, Javier Milei, received an Honoris Causa doctorate at Santiago de Cali University, the same place where later the inauguration of the president-elect, Abelardo de la Espriella, will take place. “The winds of history are blowing in the direction of freedom for the first time in many years,” he said, referring to elections in Chile, Peru, and now Colombia, where far-right candidates aligned with Milei, Donald Trump, and Nayib Bukele have won.
Gustavo Petro, leaving the Nariño Palace this Friday in Bogotá. / Carlos Ortega / EFE
Gustavo Petro leaves the Nariño Palace
The outgoing president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, left the Nariño Palace in downtown Bogotá past noon this Friday, the seat of the Presidency. The leader, dressed all in white, was accompanied by his children Antonella Petro and Nicolás Alcocer, as well as several of his closest collaborators. Petro exited the building through the Plaza de Armas, toward the north side of the property, where the Presidential Guard battalion paid him honors. The leftist president, who has had no direct communication with the incoming president, Abelardo de la Espriella, leaves the presidential palace despite considering the new leader “illegitimate.” According to the new government, the Nariño Palace will become a museum, while the San Carlos Palace, current seat of the Foreign Ministry, will return to being the seat of the Presidency, as it was between 1954 and 1979.
More than 600 journalists cover De la Espriella’s inauguration in Cali
Part of the immense logistics of the presidential inauguration ceremony is organizing the journalists. More than 600 accredited professionals have gathered since nine in the morning in front of Santiago de Cali University, whose auditorium will host the oath.
But the decision to divide the act into two parts and finish it at a military battalion also divided the journalists, who will have to choose which event to cover.
Under strict security measures and registrations, journalists will not be able to move around the military facility on their own and depend on the communications team’s authorization to access the place.
Iván Cepeda, from Barranquilla: “Abelardo de la Espriella will be a United States agent”
The Colombian left declared itself in resistance this Friday after the end of Gustavo Petro’s four years in power. “We will fight to the limit and beyond to preserve the achievements we have reached in these years,” proclaimed senator and former presidential candidate Iván Cepeda during a morning event in Barranquilla. “Resistance! Resistance! Resistance!” his supporters responded. Neither he nor the other congress members of the Historic Pact, Gustavo Petro’s party, will attend the far-right Abelardo de la Espriella’s inauguration in Cali in the afternoon. They do not recognize the legitimacy of the new leader, arguing that he also has U.S. citizenship and has not renounced it. “There is an insurmountable incompatibility with the supreme duty to represent exclusively the sovereignty and interests of the Colombian people,” justified the former presidential candidate.
The opposition event in Barranquilla, joined by others in Bogotá and Cali, took place amid chants and presentations that point to Cepeda as Colombia’s legitimate leader. “I come to support him because of the fraud they did to him. The United States has its hands in this,” Julia Correa, a 75-year-old housewife, told this newspaper. Her view and that of other attendees coincide with Petro’s: despite handing over power, he has not recognized De la Espriella’s victory and has insisted on an alleged fraud that no other authority, state intelligence, or international observers have detected. Cepeda differs from this stance in that he has recognized the election results but has avoided distancing himself. He has chosen to focus on his argument that De la Espriella is illegitimate because he has not renounced his dual nationality. “He will be an agent of U.S. interests,” he said referring to his alignment with Donald Trump’s government.
“Abelardo, fascist, you are the terrorist”: opposition in Cali gathers at Puerto Resistencia
Hundreds of people are gathering right now in the renamed Puerto Resistencia area, in the south of the city, to express their opposition to Abelardo de la Espriella’s far-right government. Protesters expect the Historic Pact caucus from Valle to arrive around three in the afternoon, the time scheduled for the presidential inauguration, just 4 kilometers from here. The protest leaders have insisted on calling for a peaceful day this Friday. “Abelardo, fascist, you are the terrorist,” they shout among several chants.
Alfredo Mondragón, from the ruling party Historic Pact caucus, arrives at the Puerto Resistencia stage in Cali and announces “the greatest resistance” to Abelardo’s government. He also anticipates that the left-wing party will seek to win next year’s local and regional elections.
De la Espriella meets with Latin American heads of state and the King of Spain
The president-elect spent the morning, before his inauguration, welcoming his guests of honor: he met with Argentina’s president Javier Milei; Chile’s José Antonio Kast; Honduras’ Nasry Asfura; and the King of Spain. “We discussed security issues,” Kast said after the meeting. “We also discussed penitentiary issues, to see how we implement maximum security,” he added, as well as wanting to improve trade relations between Colombia and Chile.
Good afternoon.
We begin the live broadcast of EL PAÍS of Abelardo de la Espriella’s inauguration as president of Colombia. The far-right lawyer assumes office in a ceremony on the Santiago de Cali University campus, an unprecedented gesture, as the inauguration usually takes place in the National Capitol building in Bogotá.
EL PAÍS América’s newsroom in Colombia, deployed both in Bogotá and Cali, will feed this broadcast to follow the day in detail. Welcome.
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