Colombia: Gustavo Petro Returns as Mayor of Bogotá · Global Voices
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Image by user Arttesano on Flickr. CC BY-SA 2.0.
The legal battles continue in the Colombian courts regarding the case of Gustavo Petro, removed from office by President Juan Manuel Santos on March 29, 2014. After President Santos did not abide by the precautionary measures issued by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), he then reinstated Petro in compliance with the ruling of the Superior Court of Bogotá, which followed the writ of protection filed by a citizen.
Twitter has become the place committed to updating what is happening with this process. Initially, Gustavo Petro’s first reaction was reported, but also the news of the President of Colombia accepting the decision:
Esta vez Tribunal Superior de Bogotá protege derechos políticos, que son derechos humanos de la ciudadanía bogotana, de Bogotá y los míos
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) abril 22, 2014
This time the Superior Court of Bogotá is protecting political rights, which are the human rights of the citizenship of Bogotá—Bogotá’s and mine.
He firmado decreto que restituye al alcalde Petro. Mi deber como presidente ha sido, es y será siempre cumplir con la ley.
— Juan Manuel Santos (@JuanManSantos) abril 23, 2014
I have signed the decree to reinstate Mayor Petro. My duty as President was, is, and will always be to comply with the law.
On Twitter, the supportive messages for Petro continue:
Éxitos @petrogustavo en la gestión. Con seguridad saldrá adelante. La democracia está contenta.
— Horacio Serpa Uribe (@HoracioSerpa) abril 24, 2014
Successes for @petrogustavo in management. He will surely succeed. Democracy is happy.
@petrogustavo gracias alcalde, por ser ese caudillo popular y velar por los menos favorecidos. Dios lo bendiga.
— Edwin Borda Sepúlved (@EdwBorda) abril 27, 2014
Thank you, Mayor, for being that popular leader and looking after the disadvantaged. God bless you.
There are also those expressing their admiration and characterize him as President of Colombia:
@petrogustavo soy de tulua valle y por favor no me defraude usted tiene que ser nuestro presidente! mi presidente .
— Juan carlos montes (@jmontesve) abril 27, 2014
I’m from Tulua Valley and please do not disappoint me, you have to be our president! My president.
We also find messages of reflection and analysis, like the ones expressed by the writer and screenwriter Gustavo Bolivar for his followers:
El mensaje dlas mafias del poder con esta persecución tan descarnada a @petrogustavo es: roben y dejen robar o les hacemos la vida imposible
— Gustavo Bolívar (@GustavoBolivar) abril 24, 2014
The message of the mafias of power with this obvious persecution of Gustavo Petro is: steal and let steal or we will make your life miserable.
On the other hand, other people who do not support Gustavo Petro also spoke up:
Si antes detestaba a Petro ahora si lo odio a el a su partido,a los que lo rodean a su bandera a sus amigos de Cuba pic.twitter.com/mnonL9r7y1
— Patricia P Venturoli (@PatriciaParraV) abril 25, 2014
If I detested Petro before, now I hate him, and his party, those who rally around his flag, his Cuban friends.
Restitución de Petro es una burla a los procedimientos establecidos. Si no sirve que lo acepte y adios
— Enrique Piedrahita (@enpiet) abril 23, 2014
Reinstating Petro is a mockery of established procedures. If it doesn’t work, accept it and goodbye.
However, a weariness in the air can be perceived among the people, as we can see in the opinions of these two users, who question the processes:
Me cansa el tema “Petro”. Esto se convirtió en una guerra de poderes y egos que no prioriza el bienestar ni la estabilidad de los bogotanos.
— Alejandra Ospina V. (@AlejaOspinaV) abril 24, 2014
I’m tired of the “Petro” story. This became a war of power and egos that does not prioritize the welfare and stability of the citizens.
Cansada de ver como juegan con Bogotá, los ciudadanos y su democracia. – ¿Se va, se queda Petro? Merecemos Respeto. #NoMás
— Rocío Infante (@rochy1111) abril 23, 2014
I’m tired of how they play with Bogotá, its citizens and its democracy. Is Petro coming or going? We deserve respect.
Others on Twitter choose to deal with these facts with humor or sarcasm:
Otra vez Petro a la alcaldia…nooo que payasada de justicia….jajaja…que circooo…
— Egarito (@Edetor) abril 22, 2014
Petro for mayor again, noooo what a farce of justice… hahaha… what a circus…
El festival de teatro de Bogotá presenta: Petro otra vez alcalde.
— a sequitas (@Davidasecas) abril 23, 2014
The Bogotá Theater Festival presents: Petro for mayor again.
In his blog “Nueva Era”  [es] Santiago Villareal Cuellar calls these events science fiction:
Como si se tratara de una novela de aquellas en que la novia deja al novio y viceversa, se ha convertido la alcaldía de Bogotá.
As if it were one of those novels where the bride leaves the groom and vice versa, that’s the mayorship of Bogotá
He bluntly concludes:
Así las cosas, de este proceso que más parece ficción que realidad, nuevamente Petro regresará a la alcaldía de Bogotá y ahora tendrá que afrontar de nuevo otro desafío, el de la revocatoria de su mandato por parte del electorado bogotano. En cualquier momento, otro capítulo de esta que parece una novela de ficción.
So, this process that seems more fiction than fact, Petro will return again to the mayorship of Bogotá, and now will have to face another challenge, the revocation of his mandate by the electorate of Bogotá. At any moment, another chapter of this, which seems like a novel.
Ramiro Bejarano Guzmán alerts us to the danger to the injunction because of Attorney General Alejandro Ordóñez when he says in El Espectador [es]:
Lo único que nos falta es que, por cuenta del enredo que se ha creado con el empeño del procurador Ordóñez de tumbar a Petro, salga damnificada la acción de tutela, la única conquista y garantía democrática que vela por los derechos de los ciudadanos de a pie.
The only thing missing is that, because of the mess created by the efforts of Attorney General Ordóñez to overthrow Petro, the writ of protection is the victim, the only conquest and democratic guarantee that ensures the rights of ordinary citizens.
And in his analysis he asserts:
No se nos puede olvidar que el causante de todo este gran galimatías, de un alcalde que un día lo destituyen y otro lo restablecen, no es la acción de tutela, sino el procurador Ordóñez y su siniestro plan de lanzarlo del Palacio Liévano [nota del editor: lugar en donde funciona la Alcaldía Mayor de Bogotá]. No hay que confundirse; la acción de tutela ha sido el remedio, no la enfermedad.
We cannot forget that the cause of all this great gibberish, of a mayor who is removed one day and reinstated to office the next, is not the work of the writ, but of the Attorney General Ordóñez and his sinister plan to throw him out of the Liévano Palace [editor’s note: place where the Mayor of Bogotá works]. Make no mistake: the writ has been the cure, not the disease.
In spite of the fact that Bogotá has had three mayors in barely three days -Rafael Pardo, María Mercedes Maldonado and the current Gustavo Petro- the issue doesn’t end here: President Santos and Attorney General Ordóñez will challenge the decision before the Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court.
What is true is that with the return of Mayor Pedro, convening a recall in June is certain, at which time the citizens will decide at the polls whether Gustavo Petro remains in office or not.