Petro backtracks on phone call to Lula and talks about “peaceful transition”

The new statement comes after days of tension between the outgoing Colombian government and the new elected administration, led by the right-wing Abelardo de la Espriella, who suspended the power transition process after Petro said he will not recognize his political successor.

Information about the conversation with Lula came from Brazil, through the Social Communication Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic, which detailed excerpts of the conversation between the two left-wing leaders this Thursday. According to the Brazilian government, the Colombian president indicated “that he will leave office on August 6th and “reaffirmed his commitment to democracy and a peaceful transition in the country.”

Petro has repeatedly accused, without evidence, the elected official of having rigged the presidential elections, in which his candidate, Senator Iván Cepeda, was defeated.

After the election results were announced, the PT member congratulated the “Colombian people” for the “democratic and sovereign process” that led to the election of Abelardo de la Espriella to the presidency.

The victories of the right in Colombia and Peru leave the left increasingly isolated in South America, in a context in which the US expands its security strategy and seeks agreements with countries in the region.