Gustavo Petro

Gustavo Petro Urrego (born April 19, 1960 in Zipaquirá, Cundinamarca) is a Colombian leftist politician member of the Alternative Democratic Pole, currently serving as Senator in the Congress of Colombia. His family is of Italian descent who established in the Cordoba. At a young age he became a member of the 19th of April guerrilla movement (M-19) and later demobilized with the group's full demobilization. He then joined the newly established Alianza Democrática M-19 political movement.

Early life

Petro studied in the Colegio de Hermanos de La Salle where he founded the student newspaper "Carta al Pueblo" (Letter to the People). At the age of 18 years old he became a member of the 19th of April guerrilla movement involved in mililtary and political duties. During his militancy in the group Petro became a popular leader and was elected in 1981 as Ombudsman of Zipaquirá and later councilman for this same city between 1984 and 1986.

M-19 militancy

After the presidential elections of April 19, 1970 the National Popular Alliance accused the National Front of electoral fraud four years later, in 1974, the 19th of April movement surged as opposite the bipartisan interests of the National Front. The (M-19) stole in 1978 the sword of "El Libertador" Simon Bolivar and some five thousand weapons from a military garrison; "El Canton Norte". Petro who was 18 at the time had already proclaimed his militancy in the group and had been elected councilman of Zipaquirá helped to hide the weapons in the municipality of Zipaquirá. For these he was captured by the Colombian Army. Years later the guerrilla movement began a peace process with the government in which Petro was included among the demobilized.

Studies

After the demobilization Petro graduated as economist from the "Universidad Externado de Colombia" and took graduate studies at the "Escuela Superior de Administración Pública (ESAP). Later on he received a masters degree in economy from the Universidad Javeriana. He then traveled to Belgium were studied graduate studies in Economy and Human Rights in Lovaina. After these he received a Doctorate in Business Administration New Tendencies at the "Universidad de Salamanca" in Spain. [ [http://www.terra.com.co/elecciones_2002/congreso_2002_2006/19-07-2002/nota63229.html Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego] ]

Political career

After the demobilization of the M-19 guerrilla, former members of the group including Petro formed a political party called "Alianza Democrática M-19" which obtained and important number of seats in the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia in 1991 representing the Cundinamarca Department.

Years later in 2002 Petro obtained the highest voting turnout for the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia representing Bogotá this time under the Vía Alterna political movement founded with former guerrilla colleague Antonio Navarro Wolff and other former M-19 guerrilla members. During this period he was proclaimed as the best congressman by his own colleagues in congress as well as by the press. ["Caracol Radio", [http://www.caracol.com.co/noticias/300276.asp?id=300276 El Congreso eligió a los mejores y peores de esta legislatura] ]

With Vía Alterna, Petro conformed in 2002 an electoral coalition along with the "Frente Social y Político" to form the Independent Democratic Pole, which in 2005 fusioned with the Alternativa Democrática to form the Alternative Democratic Pole grouping an important number of leftist political figures.

In 2006 Petro was elected Senator of Colombia for a second period with the second highest voting turnout in the country. ["Wikinoticias", , marzo de 2006] During this year he also aired the Parapolitics scandal accusing members and followers of the government that were mingling with paramilitary groups to "re-found" Colombia.

Opposition to the Uribe Government

Senator Petro has vehemently opposed the government of Álvaro Uribe Vélez, by denouncing various actions of the government which have been classified, by the government, as calumnies. In 2005, while a representative in the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia, Petro denounced the lottery business woman Enilse López aka "La Gata" (the cat) who is currently in jail and under investigation for having ties to the now demobilized paramilitary group United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC). Senator Petro alleged that the AUC financially contributed to the presidential campaign of Alvaro Uribe in 2002. Alvaro Uribe refuted these statements by Petro, but during his presidential reelection campaign in 2006, Uribe admitted to receiving financial support from Enilse López. [ [http://www.semana.com/wf_InfoArticulo.aspx?IdArt=90714 Hay Gata encerrada] ]

During Alvaro Uribe's second term as president, Petro promoted debates related to the Parapolitics scandal. In February 2007 Petro started a public verbal dispute with President Uribe when Petro suggested that the president should have declared himself "insuitable" to negotiate the Demobilization process of paramilitaries in Colombia after accusations were made that Uribe's brother, Santiago Uribe, was a former member of the paramilitary group named "The Twelve Apostles" in the mid 1990s. President Uribe responded to Petro by accusing him of being a "terrorist dressed up as civilian" and by calling the opposition to an open debate. [El Tiempo, [http://www.eltiempo.com/politica/2007-02-11/ARTICULO-WEB-NOTA_INTERIOR-3434380.html ¿Que se olviden del debate con Uribe? Dos ex miembros del M-19 hicieron reflexionar al Presidente] ]

On April 17, 2007, Senator Petro started a public debate, in Congress, about CONVIVIR and the development of paramilitarism in Antioquia Department. During his two hours speech, he exposed various documents demonstrating the relationship between members of the Colombian military, the current political leadership, narcotraffickers and paramilitary groups. Petro also criticized the actions of Alvaro Uribe as Governor of Antquia Department during the CONVIVIR years. He also presented an old photograph of Alvaro Uribe's brother, Santiago, with Colombian drug trafficker Fabio Ochoa. [ [http://www.eltiempo.com/media/produccion/congresoup/ Las acusasiones de Petro (video)] ]

The Minister of Interior and Justice, Carlos Holguín Sardi and the Minister of Transport, Andrés Uriel Gallego were asked to defend the president and his government. Both of them questioned Petro's past as guerrilla member and accused him of "not condemning the combating of violent people". Most of his arguments were considered as calumnies. The day after this debate the president said "I would have been a great guerrilla, because I wouldn't have been a guerrilla of calumnies, but a guerrilla of riffles. I would have been a military success, not a protagonist of calumnies". [ [http://www.eltiempo.com/politica/2007-04-18/ARTICULO-WEB-NOTA_INTERIOR-3519098.html Presidente Álvaro Uribe responde a acusaciones de paramilitarismo del senador Gustavo Petro] ]

President Uribe's brother Santiago Uribe said that his father and the Ochoa Brothers had grown up together and were in the Paso Fino business together and mentioned that he had also many photographs with many people. [ [http://www.eltiempo.com/politica/2007-04-18/ARTICULO-WEB-NOTA_INTERIOR-3518522.html Una foto de Santiago Uribe, hermano del presidente, con Jorge Luis Ochoa, fue mostrada por Petro] ]

On April 18, 2007 the Vigilance and Security Superintendency released a communique rejecting the various affirmations made by Petro in regards to the CONVIVIR groups. The superintendency said that many of the groups mentioned were authorized by the Departments of Sucre and Córdoba but not by the Antioquia government and added that Alvaro Uribe, then governor had canceled the juridic liability of eight CONVIVIR groups in 1997. It was also mentioned that the paramilitary leader known as "Julian Bolívar" was not listed as a paramilitary leader and was not associated with any CONVIVIR during the authorization of these groups. [ [http://www.eltiempo.com/politica/2007-04-18/ARTICULO-WEB-NOTA_INTERIOR-3519058.html Superintendencia de Vigilancia salió en defensa del Presidente frente al debate de Gustavo Petro] ]

Criticism of FARC

Senator Gustavo Petro has publicly criticized the FARC guerrilla group.

In a September 5, 2007 interview for the Colombian newsweekly Revista Cambio, Petro argued that "the FARC are insensible to the calls of the international community and of Colombian society because they lost contact with the world after the assassinations of UP members. And since they don't need social and popular support any longer because they make a living from the drug trade, that increases their insensibility".Revista Cambio. "La lucha del Polo no debe ser contra Uribe" September 5, 2007. [http://www.cambio.com.co/paiscambio/10preguntascambio/740/ARTICULO-WEB-NOTA_INTERIOR_CAMBIO-3709466.html Available online] . Accessed February 26, 2008.] During that same interview, Petro compared the FARC to Pol Pot and stated that "FARC aren't revolutionaries, they aren't left wing but right wing and they are criminals".Revista Cambio. "La lucha del Polo no debe ser contra Uribe" September 5, 2007. [http://www.cambio.com.co/paiscambio/10preguntascambio/740/ARTICULO-WEB-NOTA_INTERIOR_CAMBIO-3709466.html Available online] . Accessed February 26, 2008.]

Petro was among those who participated in a February 4, 2008 worldwide mobilization against the FARC. His party's leadership officially decided not to do so, voting 3 to 18 against an initial proposal made by Petro. The senator had previously met with the organizers of the march, asking them why the event was only against FARC and not the paramilitary forces or the ELN. After he decided to participate, according to Petro, the "traditional left" labeled him as an "Uribist". Senator Petro later stated that "this is a manifestation against kidnappings and against FARC, but it is clear that the democratic expression of the citizenry cannot be impeded".El Tiempo. "Marchar o no marchar, esa fue la cuestión del Polo" February 3, 2008. [http://www.eltiempo.com/tiempoimpreso/edicionimpresa/domingoadomingo/2008-02-03/ARTICULO-WEB-NOTA_INTERIOR-3943406.html Available online] . Accessed February 11, 2008.]

Death threats against Petro

Petro has denounced in many occasions death threats against his life and of his family members as well as persecution by state run security organizations. On May 7, 2007 the Colombian army captured two Colombian Army intelligence non-commissioned officers that had been spying on Petro and his family in the municipality of Tenjo, Cundinamarca. These members had first identified themselves as members of the "Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad" (DAS) the Colombian intelligence agency, but this was later denied by Andrés Peñate director of the agency. [ [http://www.elespectador.com/elespectador/Secciones/Detalles.aspx?idNoticia=8752&idSeccion=22 Investigan a dos militares por espionaje a familia de Petro] ]

ee also

*19th of April Movement
*Alternative Democratic Pole

References

External links

* [http://www.polodemocratico.net/Quien-es Gustavo Petro in the official website of the Alternative Democratic Pole]
* [http://www.aporrea.org/actualidad/n61043.html Interview with Gustavo Petro]